Sabbatical
by Amandil Tel'Ilfrin
Summary: (Sequel to Chthonic)With the loss of one of the most pivitol figures in his life, Clark must find a way to move on. With all that has happened, he nearly forgets about Smallville High's annual end of the year trip. And Smallville High has a new student...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

(_Chloe and Lana stand near the swinging doors at the front of the Talon.  Their faces are lined with worry as they silently survey Clark and Pete sitting at a booth in the corner.  __Clark__'s head is hung low; an untouched mug sits in front of him.  The coffee in it - which was at one point steaming hot - is now lukewarm._)

Chloe (_Speaking in a hushed voice_): "He's been like this for two days now..."

Lana (_Her voice full of emotion_): "Can't blame him."

Chloe (_Tears coming to her eyes_): "I can barely believe it myself..."

(_Lana turns to Chloe and hugs her tightly.  Chloe stiffens for several seconds, and then hugs her back, quietly sobbing into Lana's shoulder.  Stroking Chloe's hair in a comforting manner, Lana gazes over at __Clark__.  For a moment, __Clark__ raises his head and looks directly into her eyes.  It is like a wave of darkness washes over her, removing all light from the world.  Lana is entirely unprepared for the intensity of despair and self-blame reflected in his eyes.  She hugs Chloe tighter to herself, biting her lip to hold back the tears.  __Clark__ looks back down at the table._)

Lana (_Speaking to Chloe tenderly_): "Come on; let's get out of here for a while."

(_Chloe nods and separates herself from Lana.  They quietly exit the Talon and climb into Lana's Jeep __Liberty__.  Neither of them speaks as they pull out into the street, temporarily leaving their worries behind them.  Driving without any real direction or intention, they eventually pull off the main street and approach the Kawatchi caves.  A sign adorns the entrance, reading 'Authorized Access only, as ordered by the management of LuthorCorp.  Please contact (785) 532-9447 with any questions.'  Lana and Chloe get out of the car and walk up to the entrance of the caves.  After deliberating for several seconds more, they enter.  The camera follows them and is enveloped in the darkness of the caves.  When the light balances, we can see Clark and Pete in the Talon.  Pete taps the table uneasily.  __Clark__'s expression has hardened from what it was before._)

Pete: "You can't blame yourself for what happened to him..."

Clark (_Speaking quietly, his voice full of spite_): "He wouldn't have had to put himself in danger if I hadn't been so stupid."

Pete: "I'm not defending your choice, Clark, but come on!  Your dad made a decision.  You've got to at least respect that it was his to make!"

(_A long awkward silence persists in the air.  Clark looks up, rage flaring in his eyes._)

Clark: "No.  No, it wasn't."

(_Pete leans away from __Clark__, taken aback by the sudden change in his voice._)

Pete: "What are you talking about?"

(_Clark slams his fist down, shattering the table.  Pieces of wood fly through the air, one barely missing Pete's head._)

Pete: "Whoa!  Clark, calm down!  How're we gonna explain this table, now?"

Clark (_Rage surging through his entire body_): "It doesn't matter, not anymore."

Pete: "Clark!"

(_Clark stands from the table, Pete quickly grabs his arm attempting to pull him back down to sitting.  He pulls in vain; __Clark__ remains unmoving._)

Clark: "Stay here, Pete."

Pete: "What are you gonna do?"

Clark: "I've put this off for too long now."

Pete: "Clark, don't do anything you'll regret!  Remember the last-"

Clark: "Last time was a mistake.  This time won't be.  Jor-El won't be bothering any of us _ever again_."

(_Before Pete can say anything more, __Clark__ disappears in a violent torrent of wind.  The doors to the Talon fly off their hinges in his wake.  Pete slumps down in the booth in front of the broken table, covering his head with his hands.  He slowly looks up after __Clark__._)

Pete (_Shaking his head_): "I sure hope you know what you're doing..."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

(_Lana and Chloe quietly observe the paintings in the Kawatchi caves.  Each has a flashlight loosely clutched in their hand.  Chloe walks up to the painting of Numan grasping the wrist of an unknown figure.  She studies it, lightly running her fingers over the cool rock face.  Lana comes up behind her and looks at it as well, perplexed._)

Chloe: "I've never seen this one before..."

Lana: "Neither have I."

(_Before they have a chance to discuss it further, the ground begins violently shaking.  The caves suddenly become pitch black as their flashlights go out and an ambient light is snuffed out by an unknown source.  After several seconds a mysterious light fills them again.  Glowing symbols dance along the cave walls in loosely interwoven circles.  Lana and Chloe watch, entranced.  A low rumble sounds from all of the walls as three thin beams of energy shoot from crevices and join in the middle.  A large orb like shape forms where they collide.  The energy beams cease as the orb abruptly rockets out of the caves.  A low echoing voice speaks._)

Bodiless Voice: "Leave this place, humans.  The confrontation is about to begin."

Chloe (_Speaking under her breath_): "What?"

Bodiless Voice: "Leave!"

(_Frightened, Chloe and Lana begin running over to the entrance.  Before they get even close to it, they are thrown off their feet by a fierce explosion of rock and dirt from above.  Covering their faces, they huddle against a wall.  When the dust settles, they look up.  A single light shines into the caves and a dark figure slowly descends in it.  It stops several feet off of the ground, facing away from Chloe and Lana.  The symbols congregate opposite it._)

Bodiless Voice: "Kal-El, what are you doing?"

Figure: "Destroying you, Jor-El."

Lana (_Visibly shaken_): "Clark?"

(_The dark figure does not turn, only hovers where it is.  It shakes in fury and clenches its fists._)

Jor-El: "I would not advise that."

Clark: "I'm afraid you don't have any say in the matter."

(_In one fluid motion, __Clark__ springs forward at the wall.  The symbols flare up in anticipation.  A torrent of sound and light physically slams Chloe and Lana into the wall behind them.  It holds them there for several seconds before quickly fading and dropping them to the ground.  Lana gasps for breath as she weakly crawls over to Chloe.  The cave walls no longer glow.  __Clark__ is nowhere to be seen._)

Lana (_Her voice trembling slightly_): "Clark?"

(_The ground begins to shake and slabs of rock begin falling from above.  Chloe lays sprawled where she fell moments ago, unconscious.  Grabbing her arms, Lana half drags, half carries her towards freedom.  In a great roar, the entrance collapses in front of them and traps them in complete darkness.  Dust settles on them as the fierce cave-in temporarily ceases.  Lana kneels beside Chloe, holding her in her arms and staring into the darkness surrounding them.  She coughs as she inhales the dust choked air._)

Lana (_Shuddering_): "Clark, where are you?  We need you..."

(_Once again, the ground begins to rumble.  Lana looks up and perceives an enormous boulder separating itself from the ceiling high above them.  She can hear it falling through empty space, hear it getting closer.  She can imagine it crushing hers, and Chloe's, bones, leaving them a mangled wreck trapped far below the Earth.  Tears of fury come to her eyes._)

Lana (_Crying out_): "NO!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

(_Jor-El and __Clark__ now stand in the middle of what was once an endless white plane.  A wall of black quickly encroaches upon them.  Jor-El's image is faltering and his speech is garbled._)

Jor-El: "You d - ot kn - wh - ave done."

Clark: "No, you don't know what _you've_ done."

Jor-El: "Yo - ther – decisi - to save-"

Clark: "I wouldn't have run away if it wasn't for you!"

(_His image temporarily stabilizes, as does his speech._)

Jor-El: "I had nothing to do with your self-inflicted exile."

Clark: "So now you're trying to say: that voice in the ship, it wasn't yours; the message that told me to take over the world, that wasn't you either; all the pain I've gone through - not your fault; right?  RIGHT?!"

(_Jor-El silently stares at __Clark__.  His image falters again, but his speech remains intact._)

Jor-El: "Did it ever occur to you that the ship's neurological core was damaged during the journey?"

Clark: "What?"

Jor-El: "I didn't think so..."

Clark: "You honestly think I'd believe that?!"

(_Again, his speech becomes garbled._)

Jor-El: "Ma – ar - inds – ou, Ka... l... e... l..."

(_With that, Jor-El's image fades completely.  __Clark__ is plunged into darkness as the walls close in around him..._)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

(_Lana covers Chloe with her body, anticipating the crushing weight of the boulder to land on her and crush the very life out of her.  In desperation, she pictures it in her mind: the small pebbles and flecks of dirt falling below it; the sheer mass of it.  Shutting her eyes tightly, Lana braces for the impact she knows must come.  She clutches Chloe tightly to herself and inhales sharply.  Several seconds pass.  Confused, Lana lets her breath out.  Warily, she opens her eyes.  A soft white glow encapsulates them.  She reaches out her hand and brushes her fingertips along it.  The light reacts, sending small waves outward from where she touches it._)

Lana: "Clark?"

(_There is no response.  The light begins to grow brighter.  Lana shields her eyes from it as it begins to vibrate ever so slightly.    In a fierce explosion, the light surges upward, taking any rock and dirt in the way with it.  There is a loud _crash_ above and light pours in on them.  Lana stares into it, caught like a deer in headlights.  Several small pebbles fall down on them.  Far off to her right, Lana hears a shifting of rocks._)

(_Twenty feet away from them, __Clark__ finds himself buried far below the ground with heavy rocks pressing in on him.  He doesn't move, but not out of a lack of ability to, rather out of choice._)

Clark (_Slightly in shock_): "What if he was right... what if..."

(_Clark__'s thoughts trail off into nothingness.  Sitting upward, he shifts a great deal of earth around.  Slowly, he stands and begins making his way to the surface._)

Lana (_Faintly, off to his left, __Clark__ can barely hear her voice_): "Clark!  Clark!"

(_Clark__ freezes and listens carefully._)

Lana (_She can be heard clearly now_): "Clark!  Help!  Where are you?"

(_Clark__ focuses his vision and sees them not far away, further below the Earth then even he was.  In a flurry of splitting rock, __Clark__ shoves his way to the surface and finds where they must be.  He hesitantly peers over the edge of the hole._)

Clark (_Calling down to them_): "Are you alright?"

Lana: "Yeah!  Can you get us out?"

Clark: "I'm working on it!"

(_Lana watches as __Clark__ steps away from the hole and out of her visibility.  She squints slightly and clutches her head, swaying back and forth slightly.  __Clark__ comes back into visibility and sees her.  Lana starts falling backwards.  __Clark__ swiftly leaps over into the hole and lands gently beside her.  Lana drops Chloe, who __Clark__ quickly catches.  Taking a step towards her, __Clark__ catches Lana in his free arm._)

Lana (_As she falls limp_): "Clark..."

(_Everything turns black as Lana falls unconscious..._)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

(_Lana's eyes flutter open and she quickly sits up.  She is in a large windowed room.  The floor is metallic and pale white.  The walls are a stark blue.  Directly in front of her are floor to ceiling windows, which give a view of a rose red sun reflecting in slowly drifting crimson waters.  Standing slowly, Lana turns.  There is a circular depression in the middle of the room, about ten feet in diameter, which is ringed with what looks like seating.  In the middle of it is something similar to a keyboard with a small, pulsating orb hovering beside it.  Lana walks up to it and reaches out her hand to touch the orb when a sudden whooshing noise interrupts her.  She turns and sees that a door has opened.  Two people, a male and a female, walk through.  Neither of whom Lana recognizes.  The male wears a lavish green robe over a tight black body suit which covers all of him, save for his head.  An odd symbol which Lana does not recognize is emblazoned on his chest.  The female wears something similar, only instead of a robe it is a scarlet dress that nearly skims the ground.  A different symbol is emblazoned on her chest.  They seem to be in the middle of a conversation as they walk to the depression in the center of the room._)

Male: "All I can tell you Lara is that if he persists in predicting the end of the world, it'll be the end all right - of his political and professional career."

(_Lana watches them as the male seats himself while Lara picks up a small child.  Lana fixedly stares at the child, seeing something... familiar... in its eyes._)

Lara: "But what if he's right, father?"

Male: "Try convincing the council!  He hasn't one supporter of his theory.  They even avoid him in the hallways and do you know why?"

(_Lana's intent gaze upon the child is interrupted as there is once again a sudden whooshing sound.  Looking over, she sees who she knows is Jor-El.  He wears the same garb as Lara above his tight black body suit._)

Jor-El: "Why's that, Sul-Van?"

(_Sul-Van turns, slightly startled at his entrance, but he quickly regains his composure._)

Sul-Van: "Because you can never be wrong, Jor-El.  You can never let it go.  You have an ego the size of Argos."

Jor-El (_Looking over his shoulder at Sul-Van as he approaches Lara_): "I never let my ego get in the way of the facts."

Sul-Van: "Well let me let you in on one little fact.  Unless Brainiac agrees with you, it's all over.  No more expeditions, no more research, no more-"

(_He is interrupted as the ground begins to violently shake._)

Jor-El: "It's another temper!"

(_The child begins to cry as several ceiling tiles are dislodged and crash to the ground.  An ornate statue that was against the wall falls over, smashing to pieces upon the floor._)

Lara: "Shh, it's alright Kal-El!"

(_Outside, screams can be heard as several building come crashing down and minor fires break out across the city.  The temper subsides._)

Lara (_Kneeling, holding Kal-El to her chest_): "Hush, shh, shh, shh."

(_Jor-El and Sul-Van approach the windows.  As they do, the window panes part forming a doorway.  Jor-El moves towards the balcony and surveys the damage done to the city.  Sul-Van walks up beside him.  He squints slightly._)

Sul-Van (_His voice low_): "You better be wrong, Jor-El.  You better be dead wrong."

(_Everything begins to fade to black as Lana feels herself falling backwards._)

Clark (_His voice distant, muffled_): "Lana?  Lana, wake up."

(_Lana's eyes flutter open once again and she finds herself in her bed.  Her covers are twisted about her as if she has been struggling in her sleep.  __Clark__ stands over her, his eyes reflecting concern._)

Lana: "Where... where's Chloe?"

Clark: "She's still sleeping."

Lana: "What happened?"

(_Clark__ sits down on the edge of her bed as she sits up._)

Clark: "There was a cave-in at the Kawatchi caves.  You and Chloe were caught in them..."

(_Lana gives him an odd look then places her hand on top of his._)

Lana (_Whispering_): "Chloe might believe that, but I know what really happened Clark."

(_Clark begins to fumble for something to say, but Lana puts her finger to his lips, silencing him._)

Lana: "And I think I know why you did it."

(_Lana draws him in closer to her and hugs him tightly._)

Lana: "It's no one's fault what happened to your dad.  Just let it go, Clark..."

(_Clark__ hugs her back and all the emotions that he held within over the past few days break free of their confines.  __Clark__'s chest heaves as he openly sobs into Lana's shoulder.  They slowly rock back and forth as Lana delicately caresses his back with her hand._)

Lana (_Whispering in his ear_): "Hush, shh, shh, shh."

(_Without knowing why, __Clark__ feels himself relax in her arms.  As a tear rolls down her cheek, Lana smiles sadly and hugs __Clark__ closer to herself..._)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

(_Clark__ sits in a stuffy classroom in a highly uncomfortable chair.  Summer fever is in the air, and the advanced European History class can feel it pulsing through their veins.  Leaning back, __Clark__ zones out and stares at the ceiling.  Beside him sits Lana, who is attempting to stay awake.  Her right eye twitches as her head slumps forward slightly, resting on her hand.  Several conversations are going on around the room, all of which are of no interest to __Clark__.  Turning, __Clark__ smiles at Amandil, who sits behind him._)

Clark: "Hey Aman, Enjoy your first month in Smallville?"

Amandil: "I did, and am still.  There's just something..._ special_... about finally being out of the city..."

(_His voice trails off, and he snaps to attention as their teacher enters the room.  Gathering his notes, Mr. Audley steps around his desk and sits on the corner of it, surveying the class.  Persisting in the continuation of their conversations, they ignore him.  Standing from his desk, he lightly takes a text book in his hand and walks up to Pete's desk in the front row.  Pete is slouched down low in his chair, his head lolled back and his eyes closed.  Mr. Audley takes a deep breath, slowly brings the book above his head, and slams it down on Pete's desk._)

Pete (_Jumping out of his desk_): "WHA-?  Who?!"

Mr. Audley: "Glad you could join us, Mr. Ross."

Pete (_Attempting to play it off_): "Oh, hey Mr. Audley.  What's up?"

(_Grumbling, Pete sits down as Mr. Audley returns to sitting on the corner of his desk.  The class grudgingly turns to face him._)

Mr. Audley: "Now then, though summer vacation is fast approaching-"

(_A collective 'yes!' is echoed throughout the classroom from the students, temporarily interrupting him._)

Mr. Audley (_Continuing_): "We still have work to do."

(_Whispers of dissent spread around the class._)

Mr. Audley: "Mr. Kent, please close the shades."

(_Clark__ stands and enjoys one last moment of the sun before dropping the shades.  He repeats this for all three shades on the long windowed wall.  Waiting for their eyes to adjust, the class stares at Mr. Audley as he wheels the overhead projector to the middle of the room._)

Mr. Audley: "Last week, I know I promised you that we would delve further into Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, but there's been a change of plans."

(_At this, everyone in the class seems to perk up, even though it was tempting to just fall asleep in the relatively cool darkness of the room._)

Mr. Audley: "You will recall that, back in February, we reviewed your knowledge of the holocaust.  Today, we will be traveling slightly... deeper... than is customary."

Lana (_Whispering under her breath_): "Not again..."

(_Clark__ smiles to himself at her comment.  She looks over at him and rolls her eyes, secretly reminding herself that he was indeed still there beside him._)

Mr. Audley: "But not your contemporary studies.  We touched upon internment camps and briefly mentioned the great deal of 'mistreatment' which occurred there, but we never even touched upon the practices of scientists of the Third Reich."

Lana (_Whispering to Clark_): "Another disgusting lecture, I think."

(_Clark__ smiles broadly.  Behind them, they here a soft 'shh!' as Amandil shushes them._)

Mr. Audley: "More specifically, we will be focusing on the research of Josef Mengele at Auschwitz.  That is, if you can even call it 'research'."

(_With this, Mr. Audley turns on the overhead and slides a picture on to it.  It is of a Nazi officer wearing a crisp uniform.  His hair is carefully combed back; not one is out of place.  He is attentively cleaning his glasses in the picture._)

Mr. Audley: "The majority of his experiments can be classified as the result of a sick and twisted mind.  However, many of his experiments show profound and complex insights into the workings of the human mind."

(_Once again, Mr. Audley changes the overhead to that of a drawing.  Two young men with the Star of David burned into their left forearms are sitting facing each other.  Terror lines their eyes.  Everyone in the class flinches and giggles uneasily when they see that the two young men are naked.  Both are tied down in thick wooden chairs, and four buckets of water sit on the ground, one under each wrist.  Mengele stands in front of them, a clipboard in his hand.  Two Nazi militants stand at attention beside each prisoner.  A gleaming knife is gripped in one's hand, a long piece of ice and a vile of water in the other._)

Mr. Audley: "Now, take careful note of the positioning of the two prisoners.  They are facing each other and can see everything happening to - Mr. Addams, Ms. Dialing, please, restrain yourselves!"

(_Trying to hold back their grins, the two settle back in their chairs, but not before exchanging a furtive glance._)

Mr. Audley (_Walking up to the screen and gesturing at the two prisoners_): "As I was saying, they can clearly see everything happening to the other."

Mr. Audley (_Pointing out the small knife and ice_): "Here, and here - a knife and a thin piece of ice can be seen.  You will see the implementation of these in a moment.  Alright, here is where this may grow rather graphic.  However, it won't be much compared to what you see in the movies these days..."

(_His voice trails off as he grumbles.  He snaps back to attention after furrowing his eyes for several seconds._)

Mr. Audley: "Right, back to the subject.  The guard with the knife would then slit the wrists of the first prisoner.  His blood would then drip into the buckets below, causing an audible sound with each drip.  The second prisoner would watch this happen.  Invariably, the first prisoner would die within ten minutes due to the blood loss."

(_Clark__ can hear Lana's breath grow slightly shallow as she stares wide-eyed at their teacher._)

Mr. Audley: "Here is where things grow interesting.  Wrapping a blind fold around the second prisoner, they would run the ice over his wrists to simulate the cold steel of the blade used on the other prisoner only minutes before.  Then, to simulate the blood dropping into the buckets, they would drip water into them.  Mengele took careful logs of their reactions, and noted them to have 'rasping breaths, immense perspiration, and signs of extreme psychological strain.'  Again, invariably, this prisoner would die within six minutes, a significantly shorter time then their comrade.  If you could turn off the overhead, now, Ms. Lee."

(_She complies as he flips the light switch.  Every one shields their eyes from the new addition of light into the classroom.  Their eyes adjust._)

Mr. Audley: "Now, I want us to discuss this.  But first, I will point out one prominent detail which I need to make sure none of you have missed due to _lack of attention_."

(_He glares towards the back row._)

Mr. Audley: "The second prisoner died of his own workings.  There was nothing physically wrong with him.  In essence, his mind killed him."

Mr. Audley (_Gesturing towards them_): "Please, converse amongst yourselves.  Take ten minutes, then we will convene and discuss this as a whole."

(_Lana turns to face __Clark__.  __Clark__ rotates in his desk to face her and Amandil._)

Clark (_Raising an eyebrow_): "Think that actually happened?"

Amandil (_His voice soft, sounding pained_): "Yes, it did... my grandfather was one of Mengele's prisoner scientists.  He had to see things like that, plus much worse..."

Clark (_Sounding stupid to himself_): "Oh."

Amandil (_Trying to smile_): "But it does bring to mind some interesting things, though, doesn't it?"

Lana: "Yeah, just how much could someone do with their mind?"

Clark (_Trying to lighten the mood_): "Maybe they could fly or dodge bullets?"

Amandil (_Chuckling softly_): "I think only aliens could do that, Clark."

(_Clark__ smiles awkwardly._)

Amandil (_Smiling broadly and gesturing with his hands_): "Just picture it, ET, the local superhero!"

(_Clark pictures it in his mind, then laughs.  He looks back at Amandil, who gives him a wink out of his left eye so Lana can't see.  __Clark__ glances away, slightly unnerved._)

Lana: "So you two want to come over to the Talon later?"

Clark: "I'll be there.  How about you, Aman?"

Amandil: "Oh, uh.  I'm busy tonight.  Sorry."

Lana: "What're you up to?"

Amandil: "Just a video game engagement.  Several of my friends from the East Coast want to take down Naggy."

Lana: "Sounds... uh, fun!"

Clark: "Is this that game you were talking about before, EverQuest?"

Amandil: "Yup."

Clark: "Well, have some fun.  Tell your friends I said 'hi' for me."

(_Clark__ smiles at Amandil; he smiles back.  Amandil glances down at his watch and his eyes grow wide._)

Amandil: "Oh no, Chloe!  I forgot!"

(_He grabs his bag as he quickly stands._)

Amandil: "I'll see you two tomorrow!"

(_With that, he rushes out of the room leaving Lana and Clark staring after him.  Lana turns back to __Clark__._)

Lana: "The Torch, probably."

(_Clark__ nods and begins riffling around in his backpack for a book._)

Lana: "I'm kinda glad he can't come tonight.  I've been wanting to talk to you about some stuff..."

Clark (_Looking back up_): "What kinda stuff?"

Lana: "Oh, you know... just... stuff."

(_Again, __Clark__ smiles.  Lana smiles back.  Looking through the closed window blinds, __Clark__ sees a bird lazily fly by in the summer air.  Taking a deep breath, __Clark__ turns back to the class as Mr. Audley returns to the front of the room to begin anew._)

Mr. Audley: "So, what have you come up with?"

(_He looks around the class expectantly.  Bored and disinterested eyes return his gaze.  He sighs heavily and rolls his eyes._)

Mr. Audley: "Guess we'll just do this the hard way..."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

(_Later that day, Chloe stands at the printer in the Torch waiting.  Pete enters._)

Pete: "Hey, Chlo'.  How's it goin'?"

Chloe (_Smiling up at him_): "Not bad!  Finally got this edition finished."

(_She picks it out of the tray when it is finished and holds it up for Pete._)

Chloe: "Not as exciting as two weeks ago exclusive 'Cave-In of Haven!' though, I have to say."

(_Chloe sighs as she looks down at this week's main article.  In its essence, it is a research paper meant to better develop the understanding of the areas the school would be traveling to as an end of the year trip.  Chloe hated it._)

Chloe: "I just wish they hadn't forced me to put this junk on the front..."

(_Pete scuffs his toe on the ground, not wanting to get in the way of Chloe's venting.  Eventually, Chloe notices him and looks up._)

Chloe: "Sorry, Pete.  So, you all packed for the trip?"

Pete: "My mom went through my suit case about five times.  I think I'd be ready to go to Alaska if we had to."

Chloe: "Colorado, Alaska, same difference, right?"

(_Pete smiles._)

Pete: "Clark's been having some trouble getting the last of his funds in, though..."

Chloe: "How short is he?"

Pete (_Cringing_): "Two hundred."

(_They both look deep in thought for a moment before Chloe speaks up._)

Chloe: "I'm sure my dad and I could throw in a hundred between the two of us."

Pete: "And I've got eighty.  But I think Clark doesn't want to leave Martha alone..."

Chloe: "What if I call Nell?"

Pete: "Maybe...  Why don't you call Lana and ask her?  I'll go talk to Clark.  Aight?"

Chloe: "Sounds great."

(_Pete turns to leave.  Chloe bites her lip then steps forward and grabs his arm before he can.  Hesitantly, Chloe gives Pete a peck on the cheek.  She quickly turns away from him and back to her desk.  Pete blushes slightly before awkwardly leaving the room, clumsily running into the door on his way out.  Chloe looks over her shoulder at him and smiles._)

(_Pete grins stupidly to himself as he absent mindedly walks down the hall.  Clark is at his locker, piling books into his backpack to take home.  Pete falls against the locker beside him letting out a heavy sigh.  __Clark__ glances over at him._)

Clark: "You alright?"

Pete: "Ever feel like you could fly, man?"

(_Clark__ raises his eyebrows.  Pete looks at him incredulously._)

Pete: "You're kiddin, right?  I wasn't serious."

Clark (_Shutting his locker and slinging his backpack over his shoulder_): "Call it a recent development."

Pete: "How long ago this start?"

Clark: "About a month."

(_Clark and Pete begin walking down the hall._)

Pete (_Sounding more excited than mad_): "And you didn't tell me?"

Clark: "I only got it under control a couple of days ago, Pete."

Pete: "Man, I gotta see – what am I talking about?  Clark, you know that school field trip coming up in a few days?"

Clark (_As they walk through the front doors_): "Yeah?"

Pete: "You're goin, whether you like it or not."

Clark (_The smile fading from his face_): "Pete, I don't have enough money."

Pete: "Already covered."

Clark: "How?"

Pete: "Don't worry about it, it's covered."

Clark: "And what -?"

Pete: "Covered.  Nell's gonna come back from Metropolis for the week."

(_Clark__ raises an eyebrow at Pete._)

Clark: "How about my laundry?"

(_Pete pushes him playfully, nearly knocking him into a car's path._)

Pete: "That's still all yours, man."

(_Clark__ dodges out of the way at the last second then continues walking beside Pete.  Pete doesn't notice._)

Clark (_Jogging ahead of Pete_): "Come on, I'll give you a lift."

Pete: "Na man, I've got my car right over here."

(_Pete presses a button and his car beeps._)

Clark: "Then we'll take your car too."

(_Pete looks at him for several seconds, trying to contemplate what he's saying.  After several seconds, it dawns on him._)

Pete: "You-, but-, you won't drop her, will you?"

(_Pete looks defensively at his car._)

Clark: "I promise, Pete."

Pete: "Because I know your record with cars!"

Clark: "Pete, I haven't blown up a car in at least a month.  Come on, just drive behind those trees around the bend.  I'll take you the rest of the way."

(_Finally, Pete grins and climbs in his car.  Drumming his fingers against the steering wheel nervously, he starts the car, pulls out, and drives down the street.  He's going about thirty when he feels like he's lost complete control of the car.  The wheels lift off the road, and Pete sees a tree swoop by the window, then another, then no more.  Pete grips the wheel tighter._)

Pete: "I always hated rollercoasters!  This is ten times worse!"

Clark (_His voice muffled_): "I've got you, Pete.  Don't worry."

Pete: "It's not me I'm worried about!"

Clark: "Aw, we're almost there."

Pete: "Just... don't hurt my car!"

Clark: "Hey Pete, stop talking and look out your window."

(_They are now above the clouds.  Pete looks out and sees a seemingly endless expanse of white puffy clouds stretching out below him and in all directions.  The sun rests twenty degrees above them to his west.  To the east, the sky fades from a wonderful light turquoise to a deep azure._)

Pete: "Wow.  You know, Clark, if you were a girl this'd be the perfect date."

Clark: "Glad I'm not then, Pete."

(_Pete laughs._)

Clark: "Alright, that's enough for now.  I'm starting to get tired..."

(_The car jerks slightly, causing Pete to jump.  Abruptly, it begins plummeting downwards through the clouds straight towards the earth._)

Pete: "Clark-man!  My car!  What're you doing?!"

(_The car starts spiraling as the ground gets closer and closer.  Five thousand feet.  Four thousand feet.  Three thousand feet.  Two thousand feet._)

Clark: "Got your seat belt on, Pete?"

Pete: "AHHH!"

Clark: "I'll take that as a yes."

(_One thousand feet!  The car begins to slope out of its freefall.  Pete clutches his stomach as they continue rotating and stop in front of his house upside down._)

Pete (_Dangling, his head touching the roof of his car_): "Clark!  Now would be a good time to put me down!"

(_Laughing, __Clark__ rotates the car over and sets it down on its wheels.  __Clark__ hears footsteps inside the house._)

Clark: "Gotta go, later Pete!"

(_Clark disappears in a swift whoosh of air, leaving Pete still sitting in his car gripping the wheel staring straight ahead._)

Mrs. Ross (_Running out of the house_): "Honey!  Are you okay?  I heard a loud thud!  What happened?"

Pete: "Nothing, mom.  It was nothing."

(_Pete gets out of the car, stumbles slightly as he exits, then makes his way for the house.  His mother stares after him, shaking her head before following him.  She briefly looks up at the sky before entering the house.  Large, dark stratus clouds are gathering on the horizon and a shrill wind is carrying them towards Smallville.  Shielding her eyes against the setting sun, Mrs. Ross watches as they grow closer, and then lets the door shut behind her._)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(_Dropping his wet book bag on a chair as he enters his home, Amandil slides off his shoes.  The house is dark; only the waning sunlight coming in through the windows remains.  A soft pitter patter of rain on the roof can be heard.  He flips on the lights as he enters the bare kitchen.  A couple of unpacked boxes are piled in the corner.  On the counter is a note._)

Amandil (_Reading__, then speaking quietly to himself_): "'Hey, sweetie.  I have to stay late at work again.  Sorry.'  Not again, mum.  Why do you always do this to yourself?"

(_Shaking his head, Amandil approaches the refrigerator.  He opens it, but doesn't find anything to his pleasing.)_

Amandil (_Smiling_): "Water's much better anyways."

(_Picking a mostly clean glass from the sink, Amandil fills it with water and takes a sip.  Looking down at his watch, his eyes grow large and he rushes down the hall and up the stairs.  Across the landing and to the left, he opens a door and shuts it behind himself.  Inside, he plops down in a swiveling chair in front of his computer.  The entire computer set is a deep navy blue.  Through a window in the side of it an indigo colored cathode light gives off intermittent bursts.  The monitor flickers on as Amandil presses a small button at its base.  An image of rolling green hills and deep azure skies stretches across his desktop.  Smiling, Amandil flips a switch on the stereo system beside him.  The song "Fields of Innocence" by Evanescence fades in and is soon playing quite loudly; it is half way through._)

Amy Lee (_Evanescence main singer, singing_): "- trapped in the eyes of a stranger, oh I, I want to go back to believing in everything..."

Amandil: "Time for some fun."

(_Clicking several times, the screen turns black.  A beautiful blonde appears on the screen.  She is calmly holding a staff in her hand.  An evil looking lizard-humanoid stands over her shoulder, its tongue arching into the air as it reaches for her.  On the bottom of the screen is the text 'Loading...' accompanied by a bar indicating its progress._)

Amy Lee (_Evanescence main singer, singing_): "Where has my heart gone?  An uneven trade for the real world…"

(_Several seconds pass before this screen fades and is replaced by another one.  A three dimensional world unravels on the screen, and in the center of it is an armor clad young man lightly holding a mace in his hand.  The end of the mace glows slightly, giving off shimmering blue strands of magic.  He stares blankly ahead.  Amandil smiles and looks down at his watch._)

Amandil: "Right on time."

(_He looks back up at the screen and clicks once more.  As he patiently waits, the camera pans in on the screen until it is all that can be seen.  The screen fades to black, leaving the camera in darkness.  When the camera moves again, it is coming out of a dark corner in the room.  Night has since fallen and Amandil is still in his chair.  A different song is just starting, "Harder to Breathe" by Maroon 5.  The sky outside is now dark, and the fall of rain is heavy as it batters the outside windows.  Glancing through the blinds and out the window, Amandil bites his lip.  There is a bright flash, and several seconds later a loud thunder clap that shakes the house.  The monitor now has several moving people on it.  In the distance is a black ominous dragon which is chasing another person back towards the main group.  Amandil types a message to those around him.  It is displayed as below, periodically interrupted by the currently playing song._)

[Ilfirinia: Guys, I've got some major lightning action going on here.  If I LD it's not my fault.  Y'all good on heals without me?]

Adam Levine (_Singing_): "- when it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love-"

[Leapers: Yup, we should have it easy.]

[Drune: Overkill...]

[Kenila: Don't worry about it, honey.  Just get back on as soon as you can!  =D]

Adam Levine (_Singing_): "- is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe-"

[Ilfirinia smiles.]

(_The dragon nears, and Amandil visibly grows more intense in anticipation.  His fingers hover over the keyboard.  Laughing at himself, he takes a deep breath and leans back._)

[Tinyhiney: Healage plz Ilf.]

[Ilfirinia: I'm on it, Eric.]

(_Pressing a key, a soft blue glow begins emitting from the hands of one of the characters on the screen, Amandil's.  Amandil watches the screen closely then lets out a sigh of relief after ten seconds time._)

[Merlivon: Nice heal, Aman.]

Adam Levine (_Singing_): "- does it kill, does it burn.  Is it painful to learn-"

[Ilfirinia: Thanks =)]

[Tinyhiney: Crap, he's smackin' me good an-]

(_Amandil doesn't see the rest.  Time slows down as there is a bright flash outside, lighting up the room.  From this new addition of light, the camera accelerates into the unused outlet on the wall.  It follows twisting wires down through walls, across a ceiling, down another wall and out of the house into the ground.  Jagged bolts of electricity shoot up it further down the line, getting closer and closer to the camera.  As they pass, the soil begins to glow green.  The electricity gains a distinct emerald color as it enters the house.  Amandil's hands slowly move across the keyboard as he reaches to press the combination that will heal Tinyhiney.  The electricity surges out of the outlet and moves along the mess of wires and cables behind Amandil's computer.  They spread out, several going into the monitor, several into the computer itself.  All at once, they converge and shoot out of it into Amandil as time returns to normal.  Temporarily suspended in the air, Amandil cries out in pain.  In an explosion of energy, Amandil flies back through a door and out into the hall.  For a moment, he twitches.  His eyes glow a bright shade of green for a moment more before he slumps to the ground, unconscious.  A boom of thunder rumbles through the now silent and dark house as the camera pans out on Amandil's motionless form..._)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(_Clark, Martha, and Nell sit in the __Kent__'s red truck.  __Clark__ has his hand on the door, but seems hesitant to leave.  Nell sits in the middle and Martha behind the wheel._)

Clark: "Mom, are you sure you'll be alright?"

Martha: "I'll be just fine, Clark."

Nell (_Patting him on the knee_): "I'll take good care of her, don't worry."

Martha (_Smiling comfortingly as she sees him still hesitant_): "Go on, Clark."

(_With one last glance, __Clark__ opens the car door and hops out.  He walks around the back, picking up his duffel bag as he does.  He pauses in front of the driver's side window.  Martha rolls it down, smiling at him._)

Clark: "Mom?"

(_Martha looks at him expectantly._)

Clark: "Have fun."

Martha (_A hint of tears forming in the corner of her eyes_): "You too, honey."

(_Martha holds her hands out the car door.  __Clark__ moves in closer to her and hugs her tightly to himself.  When they release, __Clark__ backs away from her several feet before turning around and climbing aboard the bus.  Martha waves good-bye one last time before they pull out of the parking lot and drive out of sight.  Spotting his trio at the back of the bus, __Clark__ makes his way past the fifteen or so people between them.  The greyhound bus is only half full, a record low even for Smallville High.  __Clark__ pauses momentarily when he sees a fair skinned brunette sitting next to Chloe.  She rests her forehead on the outstretched palm of her hand, her eyes closed.  __Clark__ hears her sigh.  Shrugging, he sits down next to Lana.  Lana stares out the window of the bus, lost in nostalgic remiss.  She doesn't notice __Clark__._)

Clark (_Lightly prodding her_): "Lana?"

Lana (_Snapping out of it_): "Clark, hey!  Sorry, I just kind of..."

Clark: "Zoned out?"

Lana (_Smiling_): "Yeah."

(_Clark__ suspects what she is thinking about as she once again looks out the window of the bus._)

Lana: "You know, the last time I saw a greyhound bus..."

(_Her voice trails off.  __Clark__ looks at her for a moment.  Behind them, Pete and Chloe are engaged in a conversation.  __Clark__ puts a hand on Lana's shoulder.  She puts her own over it as she turns from the window back to __Clark__._)

Lana: "I lost a friend."

(_A tear forms in the corner of her eye._)

Lana: "But I gained something a lot better."

(_She leans in and lightly brushes her lips against __Clark__'s, then runs her hand through his hair.  Drawing back, she looks deeply into his eyes.  Clark smiles, letting all reserves he had for this trip fade away..._)

(_Seven hours later, the bus is in complete silence.  Lana rests her head on __Clark__'s shoulder as her chest slowly rises and falls.  The sky outside is dark, and they still have three hours time left before they reach their destination of Frisco, Colorado.  Softly stroking her hair, __Clark__ sighs as he stretches his arm that is wrapped around Lana.  Carefully, he extricates himself from her and leans her against the window.  She groans slightly in her sleep.  Standing, __Clark__ walks up the aisle.  He turns and walks back to his seat, but does not sit down.  Pete rests with his head against the window, Chloe has her head on his lap and is stretched out across the seats in the back of the bus.  Clark smiles, then glances over at the unknown brunette.  Surprisingly, he finds her looking his way.  She quickly looks away and out the window.  __Clark__ stretches then sits down backwards in the seat directly ahead of the girl.  She looks up at him as he does._)

Clark (_Smiling_): "Hi.  I'm Clark Kent."

Girl (_Frowning slightly_): "Lois."

Clark: "I haven't seen you around, before.  You new?"

Lois: "God, no.  My parents _made _me come to Smallville for this little 'escapade'..."

(_Clark__ is slightly taken aback by the bitterness in her voice.  She notices, and her face visibly softens._)

Lois: "Sorry, I'm just not used to being out of the city.  It's too quiet, if you ask me."

Clark: "It's alright.  I've spent a lot of time in the city, too."

Lois: "Really?  You seem the picture perfect farm boy, to me."

(_Clark__ raises his eyebrows at her._)

Lois: "Sorry, again...  uh, which?  Which city did you spend time in?"

Clark: "Metropolis."

Lois: "No kidding.  I grew up there."

Clark: "Seriously?"

Lois: "Yeah.  I was born in Germany, but moved stateside when my dad got off active duty."

Clark: "Sounds like fun."

Lois: "I can't wait to get back to Metropolis, though."

Clark: "Why?"

Lois: "I want to talk with Perry White.  My dad was best friends with him while he was growing up."

Clark: "What's he up to nowadays?"

Lois: "My dad?"

Clark: "No, Perry White."

Lois(_Looking slightly skeptical_): "You know Perry White?"

Clark: "He came to Smallville awhile ago."

Lois: "Why would he come to such a -"

Clark: "I've been wondering that for awhile myself.  But what's he up to now?"

Lois: "He's the head editor for the Daily Planet."

Clark: "Wow."

Lois: "Yeah, it was a big jump for him.  But if anyone's qualified, he certainly is."

(_Clark__ leans back.  Lois looks out the window at the passing terrain.  Unscrewing a water bottle, she takes a sip._)

Clark: "Where do you live now?"

Lois (_Not hearing him the first time_): "Huh?"

Clark (_Repeating himself_): "Where do you live now?"

Lois: "New York City."

(_Their voices continue softly speaking to each other as the camera quietly leaves.  Soaring into the night air, the bus far below, the beginnings of the __Rocky Mountains__ can be seen off in the distance.  High above, the half full moon shines down as the bus plugs along closer and closer to its destination..._)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

(_Amandil quietly makes his way to the back of the bus by the dim lights above.  Outside, the brisk night air intermingles with patches of snow in the parking lot.  The sky is wholly devoid of any clouds.  Carefully prodding and awakening sleeping bodies as he goes, Amandil makes his way to the back of the bus.  He finds Chloe and Pete as they were before.  Lois has her head tilted back, mouth slightly agape, and arms crossed, shivering slightly.  Clark is back in his original seat with his chin resting on the top of Lana's who's head is resting on Clark's chest with his arms around her.  Amandil reaches out and taps __Clark__ on the shoulder._)

Amandil (_Whispering_): "Clark?"

(_He taps again._)

Amandil: "Clark?"

(_Clark shifts slightly in his sleep, causing Lana to furrow her closed eyes indignantly.  Amandil cocks an eyebrow as he now pokes __Clark__ in the side of the head._)

Amandil: "Clark, wake up."

(_Clark__ shakes his head slightly before opening his eyes._)

Amandil: "Good morning, Clark."

Clark (_Groggily_): "We there?"

Amandil: "Yes.  Care to wake up Lana for me?"

(_They both look down at her.  She snuggles closer to __Clark__, letting out a deep breath._)

Amandil: "Or you could carry her in, that'd work as well."

(_Amandil moves past them to Lois, whom he lightly prods._)

Amandil: "Ms. Lane?"

(_She stirs and opens her eyes.  Amandil smiles at how easy she was to awaken._)

Amandil: "We're here.  If you need any assistance carrying your items, please just ask.  Excuse me."

(_Amandil moves on and wakes Pete, who accidentally wakes Chloe.  Before long, people begin filing off of the bus with their luggage as they sleepily make their way to the Super 8 motel.  Clark has his and Lana's duffel bags slung over one shoulder and hanging behind him, while Lana is gently cradled in both his arms.  __Clark__ feels her stir slightly and her heart rate increases as she partially wakes up.  Her eyes part slightly and she looks up at him before closing them again.  Inside the hotel, Mr. Audley is handing out room keys.  As Pete holds the door open for Chloe, then __Clark__, the camera peels off of them and goes up several floors of the twelve story hotel.  It passes through a window and closed shades as __Clark__ enters the room with Lana still in his arms.  Chloe and Lois enter behind him and Pete waits at the door.  Carefully, __Clark__ sets her down on one of the two queen size beds in the room._)

Chloe (_Sleepily_): "I'll get her tucked in, Clark.  You get to bed."

Clark (_As he approaches Pete at the door_): "Thanks."

Lois (_Setting her bag down_): "Night, Clark.  It was nice meeting you."

Clark (_Calling back over his shoulder_): "You too."

Lana (_Half mumbling, still mostly asleep_): "Night..."

(_Clark__ turns back and smiles as he walks out of the room.  Pete shuts the door behind them and they walk down the hallway until they reach room 317.  Pete fumbles around in his pocket looking for the key._)

Mr. Audley (_Calling from down the hall_): "Good night, Mr. Kent, Mr. Ross."

Clark: "Night, Mr. Audley."

(_Mr. Audley enters his room.  Pete finally finds the key and opens the door.  They enter the room and turn on a light._)

Pete: "Where's Aman?"

Clark: "He'll be up in a few minutes.  He's still helping Amy get her baggage to her room."

(_Pete drops his bag in a corner, followed by __Clark__'s._)

Clark: "I call dibs on the floor."

Pete: "You sure?"

Clark: "Yeah."

Pete: "Suit yourself."

(_Pete enters the bathroom as __Clark__ peels his shirt off and gets a blanket out of the closet.  Snagging a pillow from one of the beds, __Clark__ settles down in a corner leaning against the wall with the pillow behind his head.  Looking to his left, __Clark__ focuses his vision and sees through the wall.  Far in the distance, at a lower elevation, he can see the bright lights and tall buildings of __Denver__.  __Clark__'s eyes lose their focus and the wall comes back into view.  Smiling, __Clark__'s eyes droop as his breathing becomes methodical and deep.  Pete comes back into the room and sees him already asleep.  Shrugging, he turns off the lights and climbs into bed.  __Clark__ breathes in deeply, and then exhales.  He inhales again, and then lets his breath out once more.  Beneath his eyelids, his eyes begin furtively moving about..._)

(_In his sleep, he feels himself being rocked back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  Like a boat at sea, he feels the calming presence of water.  Opening his eyes, he looks up to see Lara has him in her arms.  She smiles down at him, her azure eyes sparkling in the dim room's light.  He rocks back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  __Clark__ sleepily raises a tiny hand towards her.  She smiles broadly and meets his hand with her own.  __Clark__ squeezes it in his stubby little fingers then falls asleep.  She rocks him back and forth, back and forth, back and forth before setting him back in his crib.  Beside it is an oblong triangular speaker which emits the sound of water tumbling down a stream.  Lara stands and brushes a stray stand of hair back into the metal clasp fixed in her hair.  She exhales as she looks down at her infant child.  Feeling two strong arms wrap around her, she closes her eyes._)

Jor-El (_Speaking softly_): "You should be in bed, my love."

Lara (_Her voice tender_): "He's so beautiful..."

(_Jor-El hugs her tighter to himself.  Quietly, they leave the room.  The lights fade off leaving only a crack of light from the door shining across the baby's sleeping form.  In his sleep, __Clark__ groans slightly and snuggles deeper into his blanket..._)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

(_Clark groggily raises his head from the floor, looking about the room.  Pete's arm dangles off the corner of his bed.  He makes a quiet 'uhhh...' as he exhales.  Amandil's bed seems to be empty, though the sheets are haphazardly pulled to one side, leaving only the linen lining on the other.  Standing, __Clark__ sees Amandil had fallen off of the bed in his sleep.  His body is unusually toned, at least from what __Clark__ can see.  Shrugging, __Clark__ walks over to and enters the bathroom.  He closes the door behind him, and ten seconds later after the brief sound of running water he opens the door and walks out.  His hair is wet and combed and a towel is wrapped around his waist.  In his hands are his dirty clothes.  Approaching his bag, __Clark__ kneels down.  Before proceeding, he glances over at Amandil to make sure he is asleep.  Smiling, __Clark__ momentarily disappears in a fast moving blur.  When he stands, he is wearing a red tight fitting t-shirt, a baseball cap, and worn blue jeans.  Glancing down at his watch, __Clark__'s eyes widen slightly._)

Clark: "Time to wake up."

(_Neither Pete nor Amandil moves.  Groaning, __Clark__ walks over to Amandil and gently prods him.  Several prods later, and the young man sits upright.  His eyes are cloudy with tiredness._)

Amandil: "Oh, God-"

(_He yawns._)

Amandil: "What time is it?"

Clark: "Almost 9:30.  We have to be down there by 10:00."

Amandil: "Is Pete-?"

(_He yawns again.  Clark offers him his hand, pulling him to his feet.)_

Clark: "I'll wake him up.  Go get ready."

(_Nodding in agreement, his eyes only half open, Amandil enters the bathroom and closes the door behind him.  __Clark__ moves over to Pete and shakes him awake.  Grudgingly, Pete sits upright._)

Clark: "Aman just got in the shower, he should be out soon.  I'm gonna go ahead and get something to eat."

(_Standing from the bed, __Clark__ makes his way to the door.  He stops as he reaches for the handle and turns back to Pete._)

Clark: "Make sure you're down by 10:00."

Pete (_Grumbling as he stands from the bed and makes his way to his bag_): "Damn super speed...  Wish I could take a shower in five seconds..."

(_Chuckling, __Clark__ walks out the door and down the hall.  As he nears the elevator, the camera descends through the floor, past several walking people, until it reaches the ground floor.  There is a small 'bing!' as the elevator doors part and __Clark__ steps out.  Walking straight out, avoiding a black suited, briefcase toting business woman Clark passes by a hallway and turns into a brightly light linoleum floored room.  Tables are systematically placed throughout the room.  Seeing Chloe sipping a steaming cup of coffee in the corner, a newspaper spread in front of her, __Clark__ approaches.  She looks up at him and smiles._)

Chloe: "Morning, 'Clarkie'."

Clark (_Raising an eyebrow as he pulls out a chair and sits down_): "'Clarkie'?"

Chloe (_Giggling_): "Sorry, I just can't get over it!"

Clark: "What?"

Chloe: "Well, let's say Lana's rather... vocal... when she's sleeping."

(_Chloe takes a sip of her coffee to suppress the giggles.  __Clark__ smiles and shakes his head at her._)

Clark: "So where's everyone else?"

(_Clark__ looks around the room at these words.  He spots ten classmates, leaving ten still unaccounted for.  Three young women __Clark__ recognizes as Amy, Linda and Rika walk into the room and make their way for the fruit.  Following them are the inseparable pair of Robin and Garret.  A man enters - another of the hotel's patrons – and seats himself in front of a newspaper._)

Clark: "Sure hope they show up soon."

(_Clark__ spots Mr. Audley in a corner.  His short hair is carefully combed to one side.  He glances up from his book at __Clark__ and smiles._)

Chloe: "Anyways...  Clark?  Claaark?"

(_Turning back to face her, __Clark__ smiles innocently._)

Clark: "Sorry, just kind of zoned out there."

Chloe: "I noticed...  Do you know what we're going to be up to today?"

Clark: "No idea.  I think they want it to be a surprise."

Chloe: "Just as long as Mr. Audley doesn't take us to some museum..."

Clark: "Wouldn't put it past him."

(_Lana sits down at an empty chair at their table._)

Lana: "Past who?"

Chloe: "Oh, nothing.  Just trying to figure out what we're going to be doing."

Lana: "I hope we do some hiking."

Clark: "I'm sure we will.  Just look out the window!"

(_All three of them do.  The sky is like a marvelous painting, yet infinitely better than any human could ever hope to put on canvas.  Forming a snow-caped line across the sky stands mountain after mountain.  The sun barely peeks around from behind one of the taller ones, casting a halo of light upon the crowns of the peaks surrounding it.  The three sit mesmerized for several minutes.  They are brought out of their daze by Amandil and Pete entering the room, grabbing some food, seeing them, and sitting down._)

Clark (_Eyeing their food_): "I'm kind of hungry.  You guys want anything?"

(_Clark__ looks up at Lana and Chloe._)

Chloe: "No thanks - already ate."

(_She holds up her cup of coffee.  Clark looks expectantly at Lana, who returns his gaze._)

Lana: "Some cereal would be nice, Clark."

(_Chloe begins uncontrollably giggling as __Clark__ stands and leaves the table.  Pete eyes her._)

Pete: "What's so funny, Chlo?"

Chloe (_Speaking through the giggles_): "Sorry – just – Clarkie!"

(_Carefully controlling herself under her friends' collectively confused gazes, Chloe straightens up and suppresses the giggles to a makeshift smile.  She looks over Pete's shoulder and sees Lois enter.  Chloe waves to her, who spots them and walks over._)

Lois (_Plopping down next to Chloe_): "So tired..."

(_Clark__ returns to the table with four plastic containers of golden grams.  He sets two down in front of Lana and hand her a small carton of milk and a spoon._)

Clark (_As he reseats himself_): "Sorry, that's all they had left."

(_Clark__ notices Lois, and then glances down at his food._)

Chloe: "Oh, Clark!  I never got to introduce you to Lois."

Lois: "We met."

Clark: "Last night, on the bus."

Chloe: "Oh, well okay then."

Clark: "Here, Lois.  Why don't you have these?"

(_Clark__ slides his cereal milk and spoon to her.  She looks down at them, then up at him._)

Lois: "Didn't you have any?"

Clark: "Oh, yeah.  I ate earlier."

(_Chloe raises an eyebrow at him, but doesn't have a chance to respond as they all look up to see another person enter – someone not quite like the rest of the people.  A tall, red haired, heavily freckled man wearing a red windbreaker and sweatpants walks across the room towards their teacher.  Mr. Audley notices and stands to greet him._)

Mr. Audley: "Mr. Chavez!  Good to finally meet you.  How are you doing?"

Mr. Chavez (_Speaking with a slight southern accent_): "Great, thanks.  Please, just call me 'Dan'."

Mr. Audley: "Of course."

(_Mr. Audley gestures to the nineteen students sitting around him._)

Mr. Audley: "This is them."

Dan Chavez (_Surveying them with a twinkle in his eye_): "They look like they haven't slept a wink!"

Mr. Audley: "Well, most of them just woke up…"

Dan: "Long bus ride?"

Mr. Audley: "Yes."

Male (_His voice squawking from a walkie-talkie on Dan's belt_): "Uncle Dan?"

Dan: "Excuse me."

(_He unclips the walkie-talkie and presses the transmit button on the side._)

Dan: "Yup?"

Male: "We almost good to go?"

Dan: "Almost.  I'll divvy them up into groups of six or so and send 'em out.  You're in the suburban, right?"

Male: "Yeah."

Dan: "I'll make sure you get the group with the cutest girls."

Male: "Uncle Dan!"

Dan (_Chuckling_): "Lighten up, buddy."

Male (_Laughing_): "Alright… just make sure they're cute."

(_An indiscernible female voice is heard in the background from the male's end._)

Male: "Sorry, I'll let you get back to work.  Keep me updated."

Dan: "Will do."

(_Dan clips the walkie-talkie back on his belt and turns back to Mr. Audley._)

Dan: "Well, let's get this show on the road."

Mr. Audley: "Please.  They're all yours."

Dan: "Oh, I don't know about that!  Never know, I can be kind of kooky at times."

(_Mr. Audley doesn't get his humor; his mouth becoming a straight line._)

Dan: "Right.  So, you have twenty people, not including yourself, right?"

Mr. Audley: "Correct."

(_Glancing around the room, Dan counts the people._)

Dan: "I only see nineteen."

(_Mr. Audley counts to confirm the number._)

Mr. Audley: "I believe…  Has anyone seen Mr. Sanchez?"

Amy (_Speaking from behind a muffin_): "He was in the pool a little while ago!"

Mr. Audley: "Garret, you were his roommate, correct?  Do you know if he's out yet?"

Garret: "Should be…"

Mr. Audley: "You don't know?"

Garret: "Well, uh… I kind of… didn't…"

(_Beside him, Robin blushes.  Mr. Audley gazes at them dangerously before turning towards the entrance as Raul enters._)

Raul Sanchez: "Sorry."

Dan: "Alright, it looks like we have everyone now.  Mr. Sanchez, grab a muffin.  We've got a bit of a ride.  Does everyone have warm clothing?  Coats, gloves, hats, etcetera?"

(_He sees everyone glance around at each other._)

Dan: "Didn't think so.  If you could get your stuff and then meet me out in the parking lot in twenty minutes, that'd be great."

(_Nodding to Mr. Audley, he leaves the room and turns to the left, exiting the hotel.  __Clark__ stands._)

Clark: "Meet you in the parking lot in a bit."

Lana and Chloe: "Okay."

(_Pete and Amandil stand and follow him to the elevator.  They enter and turn around as Pete presses the button for the fourth floor, and the doors begin to close.  Past several hallways, past the entrance to the room they just entered, and past the lobby, __Clark__ can see out into the parking lot.  Three large vans are parked there, each bearing the words "Breckenridge Search and Rescue".  The heavy metal doors close, cutting off __Clark__'s view..._)


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

(_Clark stands in the lobby, a backpack slung over one shoulder.  Pete stands beside him, panting slightly.  Their duffel bags sit between them._)

Pete: "There's like, no oxygen up here!"

Clark: "Really?  I didn't notice any change."

Pete (_Grumbling so only __Clark__ can hear_): "Damn Kryptonian…"

(_Clark__ lightly punches Pete on the arm.  The elevator doors open and Lana and Chloe step out, followed closely by Lois.  They drag their bags out after them._)

Clark (_Grabbing Lois and Lana's bags_): "Here, let us help you with those.  Everyone's already out in the parking lot, come on.  Let's go."

(_Pete picks up Chloe's bag.  They exit the hotel and find Dan waiting for them._)

Dan: "Okay, good.  You five can go in that suburban over there."

(_He gestures towards the one on the left and pulls out his walkie-talkie as he approaches the driver's side of the van on the right._)

Dan: "Okay, everyone's accounted for.  We're good to go once you've got your load.  I'll lead."

(_The five amble up to the van.  A young man the same age as them gets out of the driver's seat and opens the back door for their bags.  He has short brown hair, light brown eyes, and his face and arms are dotted with freckles.  Rough, but evenly shaved, facial hair covers his lower face.  He wears black snow pants and a light gray polypropylene shirt which fits to his upper body.  Smiling broadly, he holds out his hand to greet them as they reach him._)

Young man: "Hi, I'm Roby."

Clark (_Shaking his hand, recognizing his voice from the walkie-talkie before_): "Clark Kent."

Roby: "Nice to meet you, Clark."

(_Roby looks over __Clark__'s shoulder at the others._)

Clark (_Pointing to each of them_): "This is Lana, Chloe, Pete, and Lois."

(_They voice their hellos to him._)

Roby (_Shaking their hands one by one_): "Pleasure.  If you could put your bags in the back and climb on in, we'll get on our way."

(_They do as he asks.  As __Clark__ climbs into the car last, he finds Amandil already sitting in one of the captain's seats._)

Amandil (_Smiling_): "What took you so long?"

(_Clark__ shakes his head and looks for a seat.  The three girls are in the back and Pete sits in the other captain's seat.  Shrugging, __Clark__ sits down on the floor between the two seats.  Roby gets in the car and shuts his door behind him, starting the engine._)

Roby: "Oh!  and I'd like ya'll to meet my lovely assistant, Stacey."

(_A cute face, very similar to Roby's but with lighter hair and more delicate features, smiles back at them from around the passenger side seat.  She looks to be about eight or nine.  Her hair is put up in a pony tail and she wears a light blue sweater and a pair of matching snow pants._)

Stacey: "Hi!"

Roby: "Officially, we're your 'tour guides.'  But we're really just here to do the same as ya'll and have a great time.  If you've got any questions, just ask."

(_Roby's walkie-talkie squawks at him.  He picks it up and answers._)

Roby: "Yup, coming."

(_Switching into gear, Roby backs the suburban out of their parking spot and pulls out of the hotel.  Heading west, deeper into the mountains, they begin their trek.  Roby turns on the radio, but keeps it low._)

Roby (_Speaking to Stacey_): "Why don't you find something?"

Stacey: "Sure."

(_As she looks around on the radio, Roby talks with __Clark__._)

Roby: "Ya'll are from Kansas, right?"

Clark: "Yup, Smallville."

Roby: "Sounds like a hoppin' place."

Clark (_Smiling inwardly_): "It can be at times...  Are you from around here?"

Roby: "Yeah, over in Highlands Ranch."

Clark: "Where's that?"

Roby: "About forty minutes south of Denver."

Clark: "Oh, cool.  What're we going to be doing today?  Do you know?"

Roby: "Yup.  We're going to hike up to Francie's Cabin.  That should take us a couple of hours.  I'll leave what we're doing tonight a secret, though.  But I will tell you it's quite an experience!"

Clark: "Sure you can't give me even a hint?"

Roby: "Wouldn't want to lessen the experience for you.  Trust me, it's quite a view."

Clark: "A view?"

Roby (_Looking at him in the rear view mirror and winking_): "You never heard me say that."

Clark: "Gotcha."

Roby: "And tomorrow, we'll be heading over to Copper to ski."

(_Clark__ groans slightly._)

Roby: "Ever been?"

Clark: "Nope."

Roby: "You'll do great.  I'm a decent skier, for my part."

Stacey: "You're really good, Roby!"

Roby (_Blushing slightly, choosing to ignore her comment_): "And my Aunt was the first female skier to race competitively on the east coast."

Clark: "That's pretty cool.  So you're gonna give us lessons?"

Roby: "Yup.  Start you off small and work your way up.  Hey, Pete?"

Pete (_Snapping out of the trance he was in staring out the window_): "Huh?  Yes?"

Roby: "Ever been skiing before?"

Pete: "Couple of times.  My family takes a vacation every year.  Couple of times it's been to ski resorts."

Roby: "Ever to Colorado?"

Pete: "Yup, we went to Vale.  Other time we went to Vermont."

Roby: "Awesome."

(_The van comes to a stop in front of a roundabout.  Roby waits for a car to pass by before continuing.  They circle three quarters of the way around it before turning right onto a pothole stricken road._)

Roby: "This is gonna be a bit bumpy."

(_They hit one and Chloe flies up, hitting her head on the roof of the car._)

Chloe: "Oww!"

Roby: "Sorry about that!  You might want to put on your seat belt..."

(_Slowing down some, Roby avoids as many as he can before they pull onto a smoother dirt road.  It slopes slightly upwards, passing by the occasional household._)

Roby: "Almost there..."

(_A large amount of snow covers the ground now.  As they turn a corner, __Clark__ sees a seven foot wall of it surrounding what looks like an empty parking lot aside from their party and a large trailer holding a snow mobile.  The other two vans are already parked, and people are climbing out of them._)

Roby: "Alright, now's where we hoof it."

Lana: "Hoof it?"

Roby: "Well, 'snow shoe it,' if you want to get technical on me.  Don't worry about your bags, Stace and I will be bringing them up to the cabin for you."

Stacey: "Yup, snowmobiles!"

Roby (_Opening his door and getting out_): "Alright, everyone out.  I'll get you your snowshoes so you can start."

(_Getting out of the car after Amandil, __Clark__ accidentally slips on a patch of ice.  He falls forward on to Amandil, who is knocked over by him._)

Amandil (_Face down in the snow_): "Uh, Clark?  Could you get off of me, please?  You're a bit... heavy..."

(_Feeling a tad bit queasy, __Clark__ stands and helps Amandil up.  Brushing snow off of his self, Amandil gingerly touches his face._)

Clark: "Sorry.  Kind of slipped."

Amandil (_His nose starting to bleed_): "Don't worry about it!"

Clark: "You sure you're okay?"

Amandil (_Accepting a napkin from Roby that he just pulled out of the car_): "Yeah."

(_Amandil turns away from him, covering his nose with his hands.  He feels a warm rush of blood move from his chest, up his arms, and into his hands.  Taking his hands away, he realizes that the bleeding has stopped.  Shrugging and pushing it to the back of his mind for later, Amandil wipes the remnant blood from his nose._)

Amandil: "Thanks.  It already stopped.  My nose can be fickle like that."

Roby: "No problem."

(_Roby opens the back of the van and pulls out eight pairs of snowshoes.  He hands them out._)

Roby: "They're real simple to put on.  Ratchet action tightening."

Lana (_Accepting a pair from him_): "Thanks."

Chloe: "How the heck are you supposed to walk in these things?"

Roby (_Laughing heartily_): "My uncle can show you.  He'll be leading you up the 'short cut.'"

Lois: "Short cut?  I like the sound of that."

Stacey (_Helping Roby pull supplies out of the back_): "It'll still take ya an hour and a half!"

(_They all groan._)

Roby: "You're lucky.  First time I went up, I had to lug my supplies the old fashioned way..."

(_Lana successfully fastens the snowshoes to her feet.  Taking a step, her tip gets stuck on a small mound of snow and she stumbles forward.  Quickly dropping to one knee, __Clark__ catches her._)

Lana: "Nice catch, Clark."

Clark: "Thanks."

(_Clark__ carefully sets her back up on her feet before returning to his own snowshoes._)

Roby: "Okay, I'll go get the snowmobile.  Stace, if you could make sure they all get poles?"

Stacey: "Okay."

Roby: "Thanks.  See you guys up there."

Lois: "Can't I ride, too?"

Roby: "Only one passenger, sorry.  And I don't think you'd want to, either.  I'm a bit crazy on a snowmobile."

Stacey (_Gulping_): "It's true.  But it _is_ fun... kinda..."

Roby (_Messing up her hair with his hand playfully_): "I'll take it easy on ya this time."

Stacey: "You better!"

(_Smiling, Roby walks away from them towards the trailer.  After getting a pair of poles, __Clark__ heads off to join the other two groups of seven now waiting for them.  The others follow closely behind, awkwardly moving in their new footwear.  Standing on top of the snow wall is Dan._)

Dan: "Everyone ready to move out?"

(_A couple of people nod their heads._)

Dan: "Alright.  Follow me."

(_Clark__ turns as he hears the revving of an engine.  Roby pulls the snowmobile out of the trailer and over to the vans.  Turning back to the task at hand, __Clark__ scrambles half way up the snow wall before sliding back down again.  Trying it again, he realizes that his snowshoes have small teeth on the bottom of them.  Digging these in, __Clark__ makes it up easily.  Still walking a bit shakily, __Clark__ makes his way up the wide trail in pursuit of their guide.  Several thousand feet above them and a mile further into the mountains, nestled in the depression between the Crystal Creek and Lehman Gulch,  and in the shadow of Mount Helen on the border of the Arapaho National Forest, Francie's Cabin sits in quiet patience for her newest visitors to reach her..._)


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

(_Roby and Stacey move along the well packed trail on their way, finally, back to the cabin.   Sitting between him and the handlebars, Stacey wears a helmet and goggles.  As they round a corner, Roby slows down to a stop.  Taking his hands off, he gestures to the handle bars._)

Roby (_Yelling over the engine_): "Want to drive?"

(_Stacey nods her little helmeted head and takes hold of them.  Roby quickly wraps his arms around her to hold on as she guns it and they take off.  Squeezing the seat tightly between his thighs Roby smiles happily down at his little sister.  They approach a steep incline, the last one before they reach the cabin._)

Roby (_Whispering to himself_): "Something tells me she isn't gonna slow down..."

(_She doesn't.  In fact, she gives it even more gas as they speed up the slope.  They reach the top and the machine flies into the air.  They float for several seconds before coming back down into the snow with a slight jolt.  A hundred yards away, they spot Francie's Cabin, gently tucked in the midst of a grove of evergreens.  Speeding up to make it through the deep snow, they stop ten yards away and shut off the snowmobile._)

Stacey (_Excitedly_): "Thanks, Roby!"

(_She energetically jumps off of the snowmobile, only to find that the snow is far too deep for her.  Sinking in to her chin, she looks over at Roby who looks back at her with a glimmer in his eye._)

Roby: "Need some help?"

Stacey: "Not funny!"

Roby: "One sec."

(_Jumping down, Roby only sinks in up to his waist.  Stacey sticks her hands up out of the snow.  He carefully lifts her up and sets her back on the snowmobile.  Turning his back to her, he lets her climb up on his back.  Pushing his way through and lifting his legs high, he gets them to the cabin.  Reaching the deck after walking up the thick wooden steps and panting slightly, Roby kneels, letting her jump off._)

Stacey: "Thanks!"

Roby: "No problem.  Go on in; Aunt Patti probably needs some help getting everyone lunch."

Stacey: "Okay."

(_Picking up a pair of snowshoes, Roby turns to go back to the snowmobile.  Stacey reaches for the door knob but stops and turns back to face him._)

Stacey: "Hey, Roby?"

Roby (_Turning to face her_): "Yeah?"

(_She runs to him and nearly knocks him over as she hugs him around the waist.  Slightly surprised, Roby doesn't react for a moment, but then embraces her back._)

Stacey (_Looking up at him_): "Thanks for letting me come."

Roby (_Smiling_): "I couldn't leave behind my favorite little squirt, now could I?"

Stacey: "But I'm your only little squirt!"

Roby: "You're still my favorite.  Now get on inside."

Stacey: "Be in soon!"

Roby: "Course."

(_They let go of each other and Stacey goes into the cabin.  Standing still for a second, Roby stares at the now closed door._)

Roby (_Whispering_): "I'll never get used to that.  I know I just can't."

(_Shaking his head slightly, he straps on the snowshoes and jogs over to the snowmobile.  Clipping in, starting it, and revving the engine, he moves the machine over under the cover of a couple of trees and a makeshift lean to.  Stepping off, he covers it with a tarp.  Satisfied, Roby jogs back to the cabin.  Taking off his snowshoes and slipping out of his boots and gloves, he enters.  Passing through the short hallway and two bedroom doors, he enters a larger, more spacious common room.  Two couches sit next to a fireplace in the corner.  Three more doors, one on the wall opposite him, and the others on the wall to his right, give exit from the room.  The two to the right lead to more bedrooms, the other leads to the Sauna, the bathroom, and to the downstairs.  Students mill about - some sitting, some standing - all with a plate, a drink, and a sandwich in their hands.  __Clark__ sits on one of the couches in front of the fire.  Lana leans against him, her legs tucked warmly under her.  She wears a red turtleneck underneath a matching sweater._)

Lana (_Speaking quietly_): "Clark, when we get a chance to be alone, I want to tell you about a couple of things that have been going on lately."

Clark (_His chin resting on the top of her head_): "What kind of things?"

Lana: "Dreams, mainly... of your home."

Clark: "What's there to dream about my house?"

Lana: "No, Clark - not your house - your _home_."

(_She looks up at him, and he stares back, a bit shocked._)

Clark: "You mean...?"

(_She nods.  __Clark__ instantly looks concerned._)

Clark: "They're not hurting you or anything, are they?"

Lana: "I don't think so.  I haven't had one in awhile, either.  Not since that day in the caves..."

(_Clark__ looks uneasy; Lana notices._)

Lana (_Sitting up, cupping his face in her hand_): "Don't worry.  I told you I'd wait until you were ready to explain everything to me.  But... how long are you going to wait?"

Clark (_Smiling, putting his hand over hers_): "Soon."

(_Pete walks by them and heads to the room Clark, Amandil, Roby, Garret and he are sharing.  He walks past a partially opened door.  Inside, Chloe and Lois are unpacking._)

Lois: "So we'll be here for a week?"

Chloe: "Think so."

Lois (_Trying to remain positive_): "Well, at least... it kind of smells good in here."

Chloe: "Gotta love that camp fire smell."

(_Lois rolls her eyes._)

Chloe: "So what have you been up to?  It's been like, a year since we've had a chance to talk."

Lois: "Not a whole lot..."

Chloe: "Oh, come on.  I know you keep busy; what do you do?"

Lois: "Don't laugh, but I've been trying my hand at journalism."

Chloe (_Slightly skeptical_): "But I thought you hated all things Pulitzer?"

Lois (_Putting her hands on her hips_): "I still do.  Then I found out about investigative journalism."

Chloe: "I kind of do that."

(_She drops her hands and returns to her suitcase, carefully extricating her pillow without spilling everything else out._)

Lois: "I mean big time, Chlo.  I want to work at the Daily Planet."

Chloe (_Raising an eyebrow_): "That's a pretty big goal, Lois."

Lois: "Yeah?  Well, I'm a big girl.  That's why I got an internship there this summer."

Chloe: "Seriously?"

Lois: "Yeah."

Chloe: "Props to you!  I always pictured you as..."

(_Lois stops what she is doing and turns to face her, hands back on her hips._)

Chloe: "Nothing, sorry...  So, um, we'll see a bit more of each other this summer, then?"

Lois: "You've got an internship too, right?"

Chloe: "Yup.  With Lionel Luthor out of the picture, it seems a couple of my articles were rediscovered where fear had previously buried them before."

Lois: "It'll be good to get to know you better, Chlo."

Chloe (_Smiling, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear_): "Yeah.  That goes both ways, you know."

Lois (_Moving her suitcase under one of the bunk beds and straightening her pillow one last time_): "Well, let's go see what everyone else is up to."

Chloe (_Finishing up as well_): "Sounds good to me."

(_They leave the room and walk out into the main area.  Spotting Clark and Lana sitting on the couches, they make their way over and sit beside them.  As they do, the camera leaves them and exits out the window to their left.  High above the small cabin, the sun shines down, unhindered by any clouds.  The sky is completely clear, a forbearer of the perfectly clear night soon to be.  Slowly, it arches its way through the sky.  Below the horizon, the moon waits patiently for her turn to quietly appear behind __Mount__Helen__ and coat the land in a soft, shimmering blanket of sparkling snow.  The trees bristle and small animals scurry about, making preparations for the coming night..._)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

(_Clark sits on the edge of the couch, lazily warming his hands in front of the fire.  He takes a deep breath and sits back.  Lana sits beside him.  Her breathing is slow and regular and she rests her head on her uplifted palms.  To their right, on the other couch, Roby sits with his legs curled up underneath him peacefully reading a novel.  Stacey is asleep; her head resting lightly against his stomach as her chest rhythmically rises and falls with each breath.  With one hand holding the book, Roby soothingly runs his hand up and down her back as she snuggles in closer to him.  __Clark__ smiles as he watches them._)

Clark (_Speaking quietly_): "What're you reading?"

Roby (_Looking up from his book, keeping his voice soft_): "Talismans of Shannara."

Clark: "What genre is that?"

Roby: "Fantasy, by Terry Brooks."

Clark: "I've never heard of him.  Is he good?"

Roby: "I think he's the best fantasy writer out there, except for Tolkien."

Clark: "Ah, a name I know!

(_Roby smiles at this._)

Roby: "You like to read?"

Clark: "A bit.  It's kind of gotten away from me recently, though.  I'm sorry; you must want to get back to reading."

Roby: "Na, it's fine, Clark."

(_He looks out the window._)

Roby: "It's almost time, anyways."

Clark: "Still won't tell me what we're gonna do?"

Roby: "Nope.  But my uncle gave me permission to take my group out for a bit."

Clark: "It's starting to sound like we lucked out getting in your group."

(_Roby just smiles and closes his book, sliding the bookmark between the pages before he does.  Setting it down on the floor, he gently stirs Stacey.  Her eyes flutter open and she looks up at him._)

Roby: "Wake up, sleepyhead.  You wanna go to bed or come with us?"

Stacey (_Mumbling sleepily_): "Where?"

Roby: "We're gonna go out for awhile.  You can stay if you want."

Stacey (_Sitting up and rubbing her eyes_): "No, no, I wanna come!"

Lana (_Raising her head, from which she briefly fell asleep_): "We gonna go, now?"

(_Roby nods._)

Lana: "I'll go wake up Chloe and Lois."

Clark: "I'll get Pete and Aman."

Amandil (_Calling from a corner where he was sleeping_): "I'm here."

Clark: "Alright.  That just leaves Pete, then.  Be right back."

(_Clark__ stands and follows Lana to their rooms.  Quietly opening the door, __Clark__ tiptoes over to Pete.  Above him on the bunk bed, Garret sits up in bed with a small flashlight writing a note.  He smiles briefly at __Clark__ before turning back to the note, seemingly putting all of his being into it as he writes several words down before slumping down exasperatedly.  Shaking his head, __Clark__ leans down and shakes Pete as Amandil crosses the room to his bag._)

Clark: "Pete, wake up."

(_Pete turns away from __Clark__ in his sleep and pulls the covers up over his head.  Sighing, __Clark__ shakes him again, more forcefully this time.  Pete suddenly sits up, hitting his head against the bed above him._)

Garret: "Hey!  Watch it!"

(_Pete rubs his head gingerly as they hear Garret, cursing under his breath, crumple up the note and throw it down, beginning anew._)

Pete: "Crap that hurt!"

Clark: "Come on, Pete.  Roby's taking us somewhere."

Pete (_Swinging his legs off the edge of his bed and pulling on some pants_): "As long as it doesn't involve falling on ours heads..."

(_Roby breezes into the room and walks over to his bag._)

Roby (_Fishing out a bag of facemasks and warm clothing_): "You'll want to dress warmly.  It's gotten cold outside since the sun set."

(_Roby stands at the door, waiting for them as they pull on snow pants, coats, gloves and hats.  They turn to him, and he throws each of them a face mask.  He forgets to give one to Amandil._)

Roby: "You can keep these.  The wind is the biggest factor.  Keep yourself covered and you'll be nice and toasty.  Come on; let's see if the women are ready."

(_They leave the room.  Roby walks across the hall and gently raps on their door._)

Chloe: "One sec!  We're almost ready!"

Roby: "I'll go get out the snowshoes.  Meet me outside when they come.  Oh, and make sure they're wearing enough to be warm."

Clark: "Sure."

Roby (_As he walks out the door_): "Thanks!"

(_Clark__ leans against the wall.  Pete stands in the middle of the hall, his head nodding up and down slightly as he struggles to keep himself awake.  Amandil stands at the door, looking outside._)

Pete: "This better be worth it..."

Clark: "Roby sounds pretty excited."

Pete: "Yeah?  Well _I_ sound pretty tired.  Forget it; I'm going back to bed..."

(_Pete turns to open his door, but Chloe steps out of her room before he does.  He turns to her, smiling._)

Chloe: "You coming, Pete?"

Pete (_Sounding a bit more awake_): "Of course!"

(_Clark__ grins at him as Lana and Lois come out.  Quietly surveying their apparel, __Clark__ nods satisfactorily._)

Clark: "Alright.  Everyone warm enough?"

Lois: "Won't we need flashlights?"

Clark: "Roby's probably got them already, outside."

(_A collective nod goes through the small party, and they walk down the hall and out the door.  They were half asleep before, but the chilling night air instantly raises them out of their dreariness and into full alertness.  High above them, the moon shines directly down.  The snow glitters softly in its light._)

Clark: "Guess we won't be needing flashlights after all, huh?"

(_He is, indeed, correct.  The light from the moon, amplified by its reflection on the snow, gives them more than enough to walk by, even enough to see each other's faces._)

(_Roby comes from around the side of the cabin, two pairs of snowshoes in his hands.  He sets them down beside the others he already brought out._)

Roby: "Alright, everyone, get strapped in!"

(_Stacey walks around the corner with seven pairs of poles in her hands.  Carefully setting them down, she looks up at Roby._)

Roby (_Smiling down at her_): "Thanks, Stace."

(_Amandil is the first to get his snowshoes on, aside from Roby.  Kneeling down, Roby helps Stacey strap her snowshoes on._)

Roby: "Amandil, you can go on and get started.  See that small hill over there, the one with a cornice on it?"

(_He points uphill, away from them._)

Roby: "We'll meet you up there."

(_Nodding, Amandil picks up a pair of poles and starts out._)

Roby: "Oh, Amandil!"

(_Amandil turns back to him.  Roby throws him a facemask._)

Roby: "You'll want that."

(_Smiling, Amandil takes off again.  Roby distributes the last of his facemasks to Lana, Chloe, Lois, and Stacey._)

Roby: "They'll probably be a bit big, but they'll work."

Lois (_Her voice slightly muffled by the face mask_): "Thanks."

Roby (_Seeing everyone is ready_): "Alright.  Let's head out."

(_He steps off the wooden porch and begins making his way up to where Amandil now waits with his back to them.  Stacey follows closely behind him, taking big steps to try and match his.  Chloe, Pete, and Lois follow closely behind them.  Clark and Lana take up the rear.  Only taking one poll, Lana holds __Clark__'s hand for stability.  The soft crunch of the snow under their feet is the only sound echoing throughout the night.  They cross over scattered tracks; tiny footprints implanted into the surface of the snow giving evidence of the small animals' not-so-long-ago passing.  They talk quietly to one another._)

Lana: "Wow, it's really cold out here!"

Clark (_Pretending to shiver_): "Yeah."

Lana: "Glad we've got these facemasks.  Roby really put a lot of thought into this little expedition, didn't he?"

(_Clark__ doesn't answer her.  They reach Amandil, and subsequently their breath is taken away.  The upwards slope stops and levels off.  Stretching out in front of them is a large meadow, coated in a thick layer of snow.  High above them, the moon shines down, making the snow softly sparkle and illuminate any once dark places.  Even the trees, lining the meadow, shimmer and sway slightly in the slow breeze crawling across them.  Everyone's breath is taken away as they observe the huge mountains just beyond the trees.  A burst of wind sweeps the snow off the tip of __Mount__Helen__, sending it lazily drifting downward to the valley far below.  __Clark__ focuses his hearing, and can perceive no noise save for their breathing.  There is no sound of cars, motors, appliances, engines, talking, or anything.  Everything is perfectly still.  Putting an arm around her shoulders, Roby hugs Stacey closely to himself._)

Roby: "Everyone, this experience is best shared alone or close to alone.  I want you to wander off into the meadow, keeping your distance from everyone else.  Try and keep as quiet as you can.  After twenty minutes, come back to me in the middle."

(_Everyone nods silently._)

Roby: "And, don't leave the meadow.  This is backcountry; if you go too far, you could start an avalanche."

(_Slightly intimidated by these last few words, everyone branches off from one another.  Still hand in hand, Clark and Lana head off to the left and make their way along the edge of the trees.  Pete and Chloe walk off to the right, following a similar path in the opposite way.  Roby and Stacey quietly make their way to the center of the meadow.  Alone, Lois sets off in a direction halfway between following Roby and halfway between following __Clark__.  She hangs her head slightly, but holds it high enough with her pride so that no one will notice._)

(_Roby and Stacey reach the middle.  Kneeling down to be at the same level as her, Roby looks off into the night, smiling slightly.  Stacey has her mouth hanging open as she looks out over the radiant landscape.  Roby hugs her to himself, letting her stay warm in his embrace._)

(_Off to their left, Clark and Lana stop by a grove of trees.  Turning to him, Lana wraps her arms around his neck and rests her head against his chest.  She listens to his slow rhythmic heart beat.  Carefully placing his hands on her lower back, he holds her to himself.  He looks up at __Mount__Helen__._)

Clark: "No matter how strong I get, I don't think I'll ever be able to compare with that."

Lana (_Whispering_): "You'll always be my superman, Clark..."

Clark (_Trying the name out under his breath_): "Superman..."

(_Far off to their right on the other side of the meadow, Chloe and Pete walk side by side._)

Pete: "So you're not still... infatuated... with Clark?"

Chloe: "No, Pete.  I've already told you that on numerous occasions."

Pete: "I know...  It's just so hard to get out from under his shadow..."

Chloe (_Stopping_): "Pete..."

(_He stops as well, turning to face her._)

Pete: "What?"

Chloe: "Don't talk."

(_She takes his hands in her own and places them around her waist, then wraps her own around his neck.  They draw closer to one another.  They rotate their heads slightly in opposite directions as their lips brush.  Their tongues meet, gently caressing each other.  They do a slow waltz, reminiscent of the past years homecoming dance, as the snow taken from the summit of __Mount__Helen__ idly settles about them._)

Pete (_Drawing back from the kiss, looking directly into her eyes_): "Chlo..."

(_She looks back at him, smiling warmly._)

Pete: "Will you go to prom with me?"

(_Lois silently watches the others around her: Clark and Lana off to her left; Roby and Stacey off to her right; and Chloe and Pete beyond the siblings.  She sighs heavily.  Looking up into the moon directly above her, she smiles hopefully and pulls her facemask down.  The breeze twirls a blanket of snow around her, soothingly comforting her._)

Lois: "Someday..."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

(_Clark__ walks into the cabin feeling more energized than ever before.  Pete walks in behind him, looking about ready to fall over._)

Clark: "What a nice day.  There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the sun seemed so close!"

Pete: "I didn't notice.  I was too busy trying not to run into any trees."

(_The other groups haven't returned yet.  Walking over, they plop down on the couch._)

Clark (_Grinning_): "I feel like I could fly."

Pete (_Looking over his shoulder at Lois entering_): "Yeah, well, restrain yourself buddy.  By the way, what do you think of Lois?"

Clark: "What do you mean?"

Pete: "I mean what do you _think_, Clark?  Come on, she's different to the extreme from all the Smallville girls."

Clark: "And what if I like the Smallville girls?  Besides, Pete, I'm not in the situation to really talk about this.  Lana is actually _paying attention_ to me for a change."

Pete (_Laughing_): "Good point."

Clark: "Hey, how are things going with you and Chloe?  I've seen you guys hanging around each other a lot, but never got an official report direct from the 'source'."

Pete: "I'm not sure yet, Clark."

Clark (_Raising an eyebrow_): "But you asked her to prom last night, right?"

Pete: "Clark, you been listening to my conversations?"

Clark (_Looking dejected_): "No, of course not!  I've just been listening to Chloe's conversations... and this one, in particular...  Stop changing the subject, Pete!  I didn't hear her answer."

Pete (_Grinning_): "That's because she didn't really 'say' it."

(_Clark nods his head understandingly and looks at Pete, getting a pensive look in his eyes._)

Pete (_Seeing the look_): "Clark, you're not having second thoughts about Chloe, are you?"

Clark (_Being entirely truthful_): "It's kind of hard not to."

Pete: "Because I can like, back off, if you-"

Clark: "No, Pete.  You deserve her."

Pete: "And what about you and Lana?  I'm guessing by how 'distant' you've seemed the past month that you and her are actually together, now?"

Clark: "Yeah."

Pete (_Gaining a slight twinge of humor in his voice_): "And how did you do it, this time?  Save her one too many times for her to ignore and she lovingly feel into your arms?"

Clark: "Actually...  Well, kind of."

Pete: "Meaning you told her?"

(_Clark__ bites his lip, and then nods._)

Pete: "Whoa, she didn't like... freak, did she?"

Clark: "She took it a lot better than certain others did, I must say."

Pete (_Trying to look offended_): "Ah, man, come on.  I was the model best friend when I found out!"

Clark: "I seem to recall it taking a mad scientist's antics to snap you back to reality?"

Pete: "Well, that helped... a bit..."

(_They grin at each other as Lois comes over, sits down on the couch beside them, and sweeps her hair back, carefully putting it up into a pony tail._)

Lois: "Have fun today, boys?"

(_Clark fakes an exhausted yawn, trying to look as tired as Pete._)

Clark: "Yeah.  No idea how we're supposed to keep this up the rest of the week, though."

Lois: "You here what we're doing at the end of the week?"

Clark: "No, what?"

Lois: "Pike's Peak."

Pete: "Wait, you're kidding, right?"

Lois: "Not unless Stacey is."

Pete: "That's over a mile of vertical ascent!"

(_Lois shrugs._)

Lois: "You could always stay behind if you don't think you can do it."

Pete: "Is that a challenge?"

Lois (_Smiling_): "It's whatever you make it, Pete."

(_She stands and walks from the room.  Pete watches her go.  __Clark__ looks at his friend, raising an eyebrow._)

Pete: "She's also the only girl that my boyish good looks and charm don't seem to work on."

(_Clark__ shakes his head, laughing lightly.  He raises his head when Amandil walks over.  Spotting him, the young man crosses the room and kneels down in front of __Clark__._)

Amandil: "Clark, do you think we could talk?"

Clark (_Sitting up and looking at him_): "Sure."

(_They both sit still for a moment; __Clark__ waits for him to speak, Amandil for him to stir._)

Amandil: "I mean... alone.  Can we talk alone?"

Clark (_Furrowing his eyebrows slightly_): "Of course.  Come on, we can go out on the porch."

(_They silently stand, and Amandil follows him out of the cabin.  Pete watches them go._)

Clark (_Resting against the railing_): "What is it?"

Amandil: "I don't quite know how to explain this best..."

Clark: "Start at the beginning, then?"

Amandil: "Okay.  Remember that lightning storm several days ago?"

(_Clark__ nods silently, hoping – yet knowing otherwise – that Kryptonite is not involved._)

Amandil: "Something happened to me.  One moment I was happily playing a game, and the next my mother was shaking me awake in the early daylight hours."

Clark: "Fall asleep at the computer?"

Amandil: "I wish it were that simple, but I, unfortunately, soon came to find that the door to my study was splintered."

(_Clark__ looks at him questioningly._)

Amandil: "I think I was knocked through it.  That lightning storm did something to me, Clark, and I'm only beginning to comprehend it."

Clark (_Taking a deep breath_): "Aman, before we go any further...  Why are you telling me this?"

Amandil: "I don't know.  I was just going to keep this quiet, but then...  I'm afraid that, whatever it is, I'm beginning to lose control of it."

Clark: "And you think I can help?"

Amandil: "Clark, every single little disturbance or sign of distress in Smallville, and you show up.  It seems to me you're a guardian angel of sorts there, even if you don't care to admit it."

Clark: "I'm just a normal guy, Aman.  I somehow seem to always be in the right places at the right time, but that doesn't make me any different.  It's just luck."

Amandil: "Call it whatever you like, Clark."

(_Amandil looks off into the woods beyond the mountains.  __Clark__ studies his face silently.  After several moments silence, Amandil turns back to __Clark__._)

Clark: "So what's happening to you, exactly?"

Amandil: "Well...  I don't quite think I can explain it."

(_He shrugs._)

Amandil: "But I can show you, if you like."

(_Clark__ nods.  Turning around, Amandil walks over to the other side of the porch.  He picks up a small hunting knife Roby left out the night before and crosses back over to __Clark__.  Clark jumps when, in one fluid motion, he makes a smooth cut down his arm.  Instantly, a line of blood oozes from it and begins running down his arm to the wood below.  Amandil cringes slightly._)

Clark: "What are you doing?!"

Amandil (_Holding up his hand, grimacing in pain_): "Please, just wait."

(_Clark reluctantly sits back down, a horrified look settling on his face as he watches the blood slowly dripping down Amandil's arm.  Dropping the knife from his other hand and raising it to hover several inches over the wound, Amandil's eyes roll to the back of his head and his eyelids droop.  __Clark__ looks up at him slightly confused.  He finds his lips moving, uttering imperceptible words.  To __Clark__'s astonishment, small glowing blue beads of light begin coming out of Amandil's raised palm and moving to his wound.  He watches as they cling to the blood and slowly disappear with it.  After several seconds time, Amandil's lips stop moving and he stares at __Clark__.  He holds up his arm.  There isn't a hint of the wound there previously.  Clark looks down at the discarded hunting knife still caked with blood, then back up at Amandil.  He pants slightly and seems drained.  Amandil's shocking brown eyes gaze weakly back into Clark's, and he slumps to the ground as __Clark__ easily catches him..._)


	16. Chpater 16

Chapter 16

(_Processing the maelstrom of emotions surging through his mind, __Clark__ sits staring into the glowing embers of the dieing fire.  Night has since fallen, and the others are fast asleep in their rooms.  Clark sits up and places a fresh log in, careful to avoid getting too close to the flames.  It cackles as it catches and casts placid hues about the room.  Rubbing his hands together before the spreading warmth, __Clark__ bites at his lower lip._)

Clark (_Whispering_): "What am I supposed to do?"

(_He speaks softly to the fire, some part deep down inside of him yearning for it to answer.  He sighs when it simply _pops_.  Beside him, on the adjacent couch, Roby is once again sitting.  Stacey is curled up warmly against his side, a blanket pulled close about her.  Roby smiles, reading his book as he idly strokes her back.  __Clark__ looks at them, sitting back contemplatively.  Roby stops rubbing Stacey's back to turn the page.  His concentration momentarily broken, he looks up at __Clark__._)

Roby: "Everything alright, Clark?"

Clark (_Breaking his eyes away and intently staring at the fire_): "Yeah.  Everything's alright."

Roby: "Okay."

(_He returns to his book.  Several minutes pass.  Clark once again glances over at Roby as he stretches, yawning tiredly.  Roby's shirt lifts slightly as he does.  Clark's eye catches on something, but Roby lowers his arms and settles back down.  Interested, __Clark__ focuses his vision.  A layer of Roby's shirt fades away, and __Clark__ sees a long, jagged scar stretching from his spinal column to just above his left hip.  __Clark__ lets his concentration slip and looks back at the fire.  Waiting, __Clark__ taps his fingertips together.  Roby eventually turns the page._)

Clark: "Have you ever been in any accidents?"

Roby (_Yawning again, his eyes watering slightly_): "What do you mean?"

Clark: "Skiing?"

Roby (_Nodding_): "Yeah, once.  A couple of years ago when I was Nordic skiing, a guy accidentally jabbed me in the leg during a mass start.  It hurt, and I was bleeding pretty badly, but it healed quickly.  Why do you ask?"

Clark: "Oh, uh.  When you yawned, I saw that scar on your side."

(_He gestures._)

Roby (_Shifting slightly, moving Stacey's head to rest against his arm_): "Oh."

(_Clark__ waits for him to answer._)

Roby (_His voice gaining a small measure of spite_): "That scar in particular was no accident..."

(_Clark__ waits for him to continue as he carefully places a piece of paper in his book before closing it.  He takes a deep breath, wrapping his arms around Stacey.  She groans slightly in her sleep, moving her head to rest against his chest.  Roby stares fixedly at her, gathering his words.  After a long time, he continues._)

Roby: "Our father found Stacey inadequate.  He wanted another boy, one to make up for my ill will towards him.  He got her, instead."

(_His voice steams with carefully controlled rage._)

Roby: "When she was only five, he came at her, yelling something about 'getting his worth out of a worthless child'.  I got in his way."

Clark (_Gasping slightly_): "Weren't you really young?"

Roby: "Only twelve.  But I was strong enough... enough to get her away from him.  He chased after us.  When he caught us, he brought us back to the house and locked us in our rooms."

(_His eyes flare up, reflecting the fire in an apt representation of his anger held just behind them._)

Roby: "He came to my room first.  I fought back, tried as hard as I could... but he was too strong..."

(_He shudders slightly._)

Roby: "And he made sure I'd have this scar to remember him by..."

Clark: "You're talking like he's gone?"

Roby (_Nodding_): "Stacey managed to get out her window, run to a neighbor's, and phone the police while he was beating me.  I haven't seen him since, and I don't want to."

Clark: "I can't even imagine..."

Roby: "It's done with, though.  He's gone, out of our lives forever..."

(_Stacey stirs in her sleep, shifting slightly.  Roby gently rocks her back and forth, a tear rolling down his cheek._)

Roby: "Sure did make me love her all the more, though."

(_Clark__ stands and walks over beside him.  He puts his hand on Roby's shoulder, squeezing gently._)

Clark: "Come on, it's an early morning tomorrow."

Roby: "Yeah, you're right.  Here, can you hold this for me?"

(_He holds up the book.  __Clark__ takes it, stepping back.  Roby gathers Stacey up in his arms before standing.  Silently, they make their way around the couches and to the rooms.  Clark goes to the right, into their room, and Roby to the left, into the girl's room.  Setting her down on her bed, Roby tucks her in, careful not to wake her.  When he is done, he brushes a strand of hair behind her ear.  She smiles in her sleep.  Smiling back, his eyes gone soft from their previous anger, he leans over and kisses her on the forehead.  She settles deeper into her blankets as he turns to leave._)

Stacey (_Her voice slightly muffled by the plush pillow_): "Roby?"

(_He stops, turning back to face her._)

Roby: "Yeah?"

Stacey: "Night."

Roby (_Smiling_): "Night, Stace."

(_He turns once more and leaves the room, silently closing the door behind him.  Light shines in through the closed window, tracing the trail downward of the dust stirred by Roby's passing.  Sighing, Stacey turns over in her blankets and falls back asleep..._)


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

(_Lana, Clark, Pete, and Chloe all sit on a chairlift.  Their feet dangle, their skis swaying back and forth, as they move smoothly up the mountain.  In the chair behind them, Roby and Stacey sit with two strangers._)

Pete: "Last day skiing, right?"

Clark: "Yeah."

Lana: "It's been fun, though."

(_They sit in silence for several moments.  Chloe shivers slightly.  Pete takes both of his poles in his left hand and wraps his right around her._)

Chloe: "Thanks, Pete."

Pete: "No problem."

(_Below them, the mountain is mostly deserted.  Several skiers pass by, but not many.  The snow is slightly mushy with the coming summer.  __Clark__ stretches slightly, yawning._)

Lana: "Don't fall asleep on me, now!  I need someone to catch me."

Clark (_Smiling_): "I'll try."

Lana (_Smiling back_): "You better."

(_They reach the top and silently depart from the chairlift.  It swings behind them as it turns about and proceeds back down the mountain.  Pulling off to one side, they wait for Roby and Stacey._)

Roby (_Gliding easily off of the chairlift_): "Alright.  We've got time for two more runs.  What do you guys want to do?"

Stacey: "Let's go to the terrain park!"

Roby: "I'm not sure they're ready for jumps yet."

Stacey: "They could go along the side..."

Clark: "We'll tag along if you want to do it."

Roby: "You sure?"

(_He looks around the group.  They silently nod their agreement._)

Roby: "Alright.  Follow me."

(_Angling his skis to slow himself down, Roby moves around several people and starts off down the hill.  He faces up towards them, moving backwards fluidly.  The others unsteadily follow him.  Stacey catches up with him after several moments and tries to ski backwards as well.  Her tip catches, causing her to fall over.  She slides on her butt, backwards.  Sighing, Roby turns around and goes downhill of her.  When she stops, he helps her to her feet, careful not to entangle his skis about hers.  She laughs openly as she gets back up and starts down the hill._)

Roby: "Stace, go ahead and meet us at the entrance."

Stacey: "Sure!"

(_She takes off, tucking down close to the snow._)

Roby (_Mumbling to himself_): "Just don't let ski patrol see you bombing..."

(_He looks back uphill.  Slowly making their way towards him, the others follow.  Their skis are nearly perpendicular to each other.  __Clark__ makes it to him first._)

Clark: "How's that?"

Roby: "Great.  Just work on getting your skis closer to being parallel."

Clark: "Sure."

(_When the others reach them, Roby gracefully glides down another hundred yards or so to wait for them again.  He watches them carefully, critiquing them when they reach him.  Repeating this pattern, they reach the entrance to the terrain park ten minutes later.  Stacey waits for them.  A small hill rises up directly after the entrance, jutting up from the mountain._)

Roby: "Alright.  Try to keep your speed up to make it up the hill."

(_Hopping slightly, Roby skates up the hill in several swift strides.  He stops at the top, turning back to them.  The others follow, eventually turning sideways and hopping up the hill to the best of their ability.  __Clark__ follows up last.  His jaw drops when he reaches the top.  Off to the left of them, down a rather steep thirty feet, is a ten foot high jump.  This, apparently, is considering the first of the 'small' jumps, as dictated by a sign stuck in the ground beside him.  In the middle is a jump twice the size.  Off to the right is a jump that looks like it launches you straight upwards into the air._)

Roby: "Alright.  If you don't want to try the jumps, just go between them.  We'll all meet where the jumps stop and the rails begin.  Okay?"

(_Everyone nods solemnly, looking at the jumps like they'll be their graves.  Stacey looks excited._)

Roby: "Alright.  Tuck slightly before hitting the jump.  Stand up straight as you go off of it, hands out to either side.  Try to keep your balance.  It's not something you'll get the first time you try, I can guarantee that.  Just keep your speed down and give it a go.  Here, I'll go first."

Stacey (_Stopping him_): "Roby?  Can I go off the middle ones?"

Roby (_Turning back to her_): "Sure.  But you better not get hurt!"

Stacey (_Grinning_): "I won't!"

Roby (_Nodding his 'okay'_): "Alright.  Let's go."

(_Roby turns his body to face the jumps to the left.  He quickly accelerates as he goes down the small slope and approaches the jump, tucking his tall frame down slightly.  As he goes over the lip of the jump, he stands tall.  They can see him for a moment more before he lands out of their sight.  Gulping, __Clark__ takes off after him.  Air glides past his face as he moves down the slope.  Feeling comfortable, __Clark__ moves his skis to be parallel.  Wind sweeps his hair back as he gains speed.  His eyes go wide as he comes to the jump.  Catching his breath deep in his chest, he soars off of the lip of it.  Throwing his hands out to the side, he falters slightly.  Obeying instincts, he leans backwards into a sitting position.  There is a loud _crunch _as he comes back down on the snow on his butt.  He skids for several feet before he tumbles once and his ski's edge catches, arresting his fall.  He wobbly tries to get back to his feet, but falls back over and slides several feet more._)

Roby (_Calling from the vantage point he moved back up to by the jump_): "Clark, feet below you!"

(_Clark__ obligingly swings his legs to be downhill of him.  He stands back up and gives Roby a thumbs-up._)

Clark: "How'd I do?"

Roby: "You did great, until you landed!  We'll work on it, don't worry!"

(_Roby turns back uphill of him._)

Roby (_Calling out_): "Alright, who's next?"

(_Several seconds pass.  Clark slides to the side, waiting for the next person.  He guesses who it is long before he can see them.  Pete sails over the edge of the jump.  Clark watches as he easily touches back down, bending his knees slightly as he does.  Spotting __Clark__, he skis over and turns his skis to do a hockey stop.  __Clark__ laughs as his edge catches and he tumbles over sideways.  Indignantly, he stands back up._)

Pete: "Yeah?  At least I landed."

Clark (_Still laughing_): "I was close!"

Roby: "Boys – boys!  Take it easy down there."

(_Lana and Chloe both ski down the side of the jump, purposefully missing it._)

Clark: "Roby, why don't you show us how it's really done?"

Lana (_Showing her approval of the idea, eyeing the larger jumps near by_): "Yeah!"

Roby (_Blushing slightly_): "I can't do a whole lot..."

Pete: "Bet you can do it better than us, though."

Chloe (_Batting her eyes_): "Come on."

Lana (_Joining in_): "Please?"

(_Roby looks from face to face, and then sighs, shrugging slightly._)

Roby: "Alright.  Ski down to where Stacey is, when you get to her, look uphill.  I'll be hitting the middle jump..."

(_He kicks off and begins making his way uphill of them.  They watch him move out of sight before continuing down the hill.  Carefully skiing by jumps that are increasing in size with each level, they eventually make it to Stacey.  She is lying down in the snow waiting for them.  When she sees them, she perks up and stands._)

Stacey: "Where's Roby?"

Clark: "He said to watch the middle jump."

Stacey: "Really?  But... he hasn't jumped since..."

Lana: "'Since' what?"

Stacey: "Oh, nothing.  He just accidentally jumped over a little kid."

Chloe (_Making assumptions already_): "He didn't hurt the kid, did he?"

Stacey (_Pursing her lips together_): "Well, yeah.  It's just that the little kid was kind of... me...  Anyways, he'll be coming soon!  And he likes to show off so prepare your selves."

(_Stacey winks at Clark, who is looking curiously at her.  Chuckling, __Clark__ looks back at the jump.  Focusing his hearing, he hears a distinct rushing sound.  Looking through the jump towering some several hundred feet away from them, __Clark__ sees Roby quickly picking up speed as he approaches it.  His face is determined and cool.  As __Clark__ watches, he bends his knees and waist, drawing lower to the snow now rapidly flying past his skis._)

Clark: "Here he comes."

(_All eyes are now focused on the top of the jump.  Bursting into sight, Roby soars off the lip of the jump.  Time seems to slow down.  He is looking over his right shoulder and is already beginning to spin.  He drops his right shoulder, his head following it, down closer to his skis.  Dropping his right hand down, he grabs the edge of his skis.  He rotates in midair.  Once.  The ground is now nearing.  Twice.  The ground rushes up to meet him as time returns to normal.  With an audible _stomp _he hits the landing.  He holds his hands out, taking off his hat and goggles and looking at the group from Smallville.  In a cloud of snow, he stops in front of them.  It settles as he bows low before them._)

Stacey (_Breaking the stunned silence_): "That was AWESOME Roby!"

Roby (_Pulling her hat down over her eyes_): "Thanks, Stace."

Stacey: "You finally did a corked 720!"

Roby (_Smiling_): "Switched corked 720.  But who's counting?"

Stacey: "Close enough!"

Clark: "That was great Roby!"

Lana: "Yeah!  Where'd you learn how to do that?"

Pete: "And how?  Crap man, that's really gotta reel in the chicks."

Roby (_Blushing at Pete's comment_): "I'm not much in the girl department, for some reason...  But yeah, that's the first time I've land–"

Stacey: "It's about time, too!  He's biffed it sooo–"

Roby (_Clamping his hand over Stacey's mouth_): "Oookay.  That's enough, Stace.  They don't need to know the details.  Anyways, that little stunt cost us our last run.  Come on, let's go."

(_He lets go of Stacey's mouth.  She indignantly backs away from him.  Suddenly, her eyes light up._)

Stacey: "Back to the lodge?"

Roby: "Yup.  Early morning tomorrow.  Sooner we get back, the better."

Lana: "Pike's Peak?"

(_Roby nods._)

Roby: "But only if you're up for it.  It's going to be far from easy."

Clark: "We'll manage."

(_Without a word more, they ski off down the hill.  The camera leaves them, panning up into the cloudless deep blue sky.  Far off in the distance, deep in the heart of the __Rocky Mountains__, a storm is gathering..._)


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

(_Clark yawns broadly as he walks up the wide, beaten dirt path.  Roby walks just as easily beside him, a large backpack slung over his shoulder.  He glances behind them._)

Roby: "Let's hold up for a minute.  Let them catch up."

(_Around the bend in the trail they just rounded several minutes ago, Pete approaches.  He stops when he reaches them, his breathing growing heavy but calming down as he rests._)

Pete: "They're just a little back.  They'll catch up soon."

Roby: "Good."

(_Roby glances down at his watch._)

Roby: "6:30.  We've got to hurry up.  At this rate, we won't summit before the thunder storms."

(_Chloe and Lana come around the corner, stopping when they reach the others.  Stacey follows closely behind them.  It is several minutes before Garret and Robin catch up, trailed by Dan and Amandil._)

Dan: "Everyone doin' okay?"

Stacey: "Yeah!"

Dan (_Messing up her hair_): "Alright, kiddo."

(_They continue upward.  Three hours later, they arrive at Barr Camp, but only stop briefly.  Within sight are several tents, and people are milling about.  They rest as Dan and Roby enter a log cabin style lodge.  Inside, a burly looking man sits behind a counter, his eyes half closed and his head resting against the wall behind him._)

Dan: "Royce, how ya doin'?"

Royce (_Sitting up_): "Pretty good, how're you Dan?"

Dan: "Half-way decent.  Hey, do you know the forecast?"

Royce (_Leaning back against the wall, speaking in a bored voice_): "Same as every day – seventy percent change of thunderstorms..."

Dan: "That good, eh?"

Royce: "You know how it is.  It looks pretty clear, though."

Dan: "Think we're good for a summit?"

Royce: "I think so, but don't shoot me if I'm wrong."

Dan: "Thanks, Royce."

Royce: "No problem.  Have fun."

(_They exit the lodge, rejoining the group._)

Roby: "Alright.  Rest ten, then we set out again.  We'll go at a relatively slow pace from here on out, but we've still got to hurry.  Summit or bust."

(_He rubs his hands together.  As they move up the trail, the camera splits off and moves into the trees.  Picking up speed, they become faint blurs passing by it at a rapid rate.  As the trees thin, the camera slows.  Nearly half of the trees are dead, struck by lightning.  They decrease in number until there are no more.  The camera turns back around.  Emerging from the woods is the small party from Smallville._)

Roby: "Alright.  Only three more miles to go."

(_He takes a step forward, but is stopped by his uncle._)

Dan: "Uh-uh."

(_He points to several fast approaching, dark-gray clouds._)

Dan: "We're not going above tree line with those over us."

Roby (_Sighing heavily_): "Ahh...  Okay, everyone, get out your rain gear."

(_They silently put on the extra layers._)

Dan (_Looking past the immediate clouds to those past them_): "We can't summit."

Roby: "Sure we can't wait it out?"

Dan: "Positive.  We don't want to be up here when that storm comes in.  We've got to head down – now."

(_Casting regretful stares up the mountain, they turn and begin to retrace their steps.  Starting as a soft drizzle through the trees high above them, but then growing fiercer, the storm begins.  Pulling their hoods up and shielding their faces, they quicken their pace.  The rain quickly turns to hard pellets of hail, trouncing down upon them.  A brilliant flash illuminates the area for a split second, quickly followed by a thunderous _boom_.  As they get further back down the mountain, the tree's canopy gets thicker, and the hail decreases in amount.  They stop to catch their breath._)

Dan: "That came in unusually fast, even for up here."

Roby (_Glancing around to make sure everyone's there_): "Yeah."

Clark (_Counting heads as well_): "We've got everyone."

Dan: "Then get movin'."

(_Once again in the front beside Roby, __Clark__ follows the path downward._)

(_Far off in the distance, in the Garden of the Gods, a faint rumbling is felt.  It quickly progresses to a full scale earth shaking rumble as rocks are shaken loose and the road leading through it folds like cardboard._  _Seemingly at once, the rumblings cease.  A huge, dark figure rises out of the rubble produced.  It raises its head skyward, squinting with its black eyes to look into the distance at the dark storm clouds.  It growls slightly, and then disappears in a fast moving blur.  From around it, three more dark shapes emerge, and quickly follow it._)

(_Resting his hands on his knees to feign weariness, __Clark__ breathes heavily.  He looks back at Lana rounding a bend, her hood pulled tight over her head.  Time slows down as he looks away to the Northwest.  His eyes go wide and his breathing and heart rate truly increase.  Time returns to normal.  Lana stands behind Clark, following his frightening gaze out through a patch in the trees._)

Lana (_Sounding alarmed_): "Clark?  What's wrong?"

Clark (_His voice containing undiluted fear_): "Something's coming."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Lana (_Holding __Clark__'s arm tightly_): "Clark, what is it? You're scaring me."

(_He does not respond. His eyes continue to scan the trees, searching for the source of his fear._)

Roby (_Turning to him_): "Is everything alright, Clark?"

Stacey (_Covering her head with her hands_): "I'm getting all wet!"

(_Still looking at __Clark__, Roby removes his hat and puts it on Stacey's head. She cheers up slightly._)

Dan: "We need to keep moving."

Garret: "What's wrong, Kent?"

Clark (_Attempting to shake it off_): "Nothing – it was nothing. It's just… my ankle. I'll catch up in a second."

(_The others continue on, leaving him behind. Roby casts one last look back at __Clark__ before turning and jogging to catch up with his uncle. Lana stays with him, her eyes mirroring his own._)

Lana: "Clark, what is it?"

Clark (_His eyes averting back to the trees_): "I don't know, Lana. There's this instinct inside of me I just can't explain – something I've never felt before. I can't shake off the feeling that we're in danger."

Lana: "From what?"

(_Clark shrugs, unable to answer. Silently, they take each other's hands and move down the path in pursuit of the others._)

(_It is not until later, when they have rejoined with the others and have passed Barr camp that __Clark__ begins to feel sick with fear again. He freezes, once again casting furtive glances to the trees. This time, the others feel it too. Something wrong in the Earth, something not meant to be. Instinctively, __Clark__ takes Lana and puts her behind him in an attempt to protect her._)

Roby (_His breath catching in his throat_): "What is this? It's like… the air's grown cold… dark…"

Stacey: "Rob-!"

Roby (_Putting his arm around her and placing her behind himself as well_): "Shh."

Stacey (_Clutching the back of his coat_): "I'm scared!"

Roby: "It's okay, Stace. I'm not gonna let anyth–"

(_His promise is cut short as out of nowhere a dark shape hurtles at __Clark__. Time slows down, and __Clark__ pushes Lana out of the way. As the dark mass comes on, it changes shape. To his horror, __Clark__ watches as a long, blood stained scythe appears in its hands. A long, dark robe billows out from it. Two black pinpricks of light burn from under the cowl covering its face._)

(_It brings the scythe up in a huge, cutting motion. __Clark__ brings his hands up to guard himself. His hand catches the shaft of the weapon, stopping the cruel metal short of severing his head from his body. But a cold unlike any he has ever felt spreads through his arms and into his chest. He throws the figure off himself, sending it hurtling into a tree. __Clark__ looks at his hands – they are shaking and numb. To his horror, the figure stands again._)

(_Clark__ can feel the others staring at them, feel the questions forming in their minds._)

Clark (_Shouting_): "GO! RUN BACK UP!"

(_The others hesitate. The dark being reacts, once again surging at __Clark_)

Clark (_Frantic_): "RUN – NOW!"

(_Clark__ picks up a nearby log and swings it knocking the hooded apparition to the ground. Something catches his eye, and __Clark__ instinctively swings behind him. Two more of the things lunge at him. As they do, they turn into apparitions of their own. One, a tall armor clad monstrosity wielding a sickly mace. The other turns into a man with a gaunt, hollow face – his eyes missing and his skin sunk to his bones._)

(_Clark smashes the log on the armor clad one, but it shrugs it off as if it were nothing and charges onward. Panicking, __Clark__ turns to run. Yet another form stands in his way. It has already taken the form of a swirling black cloud of insects; it gives off a slight buzzing. Surrounded and with nowhere else to go, __Clark__ desperately swings the remnants of the tree about him in a complete circle, but to no avail. The apparitions simply wait for their chance to strike. Throwing the tree at the closest one, __Clark__ speeds himself up and looks around. The creatures match his pace, circling him._)

Clark (_Desperate_): "You're just toying with me!"

(_They move in closer, not responding, their eyes burning with hatred. __Clark__ looks skyward, realizing his only chance. He quickly punches the ground with all of his remaining strength. A cloud of dust erupts from the point of impact, enveloping him and temporarily startling the creatures. Throwing himself upward, __Clark__ shoots out of the top of it. He flies into the sky and away from the mountain. He stops in midair, turning back. Realizing that he can't escape this, he soars back, searching the trees. The dark beings are nowhere to be seen._)

(_Far up the trail, back at Barr Camp, __Clark__ finds the rest of his party. He sets down several hundred feet from them, out of their sight, and runs to them. Lana jumps to her feet when she sees him and envelopes him in a hug. She cannot even speak._)

Roby (_Finally breaking the silence_): "Clark, what was that thing?"

Clark: "I don't know – but there's more than one."

Amandil: "How'd you get away from them?"

Clark: "I don't know. Once you all got away, I just ran as fast as I could. They just kind of disappeared."

Pete (_Raising an eyebrow_): "Disappeared?"

Clark (_Looking directly into his eyes_): "Yes, disappeared."

(_Pete is silent, knowing that his friend is telling the truth._)

Garret: "What if they come back?"

(_No one speaks. Another group passing through Barr camp interrupts their silence._)

Male (_Speaking with a thick Texan accent_): "Howdy."

(_Clark turns to him, still too shocked to speak much._)

Male: "Ya'll summit?"

Dan: "No."

Male (_Gesturing to the women and man he is with_): "Neither did we. Shame, really. Well, we're gonna continue on."

Clark: "I wouldn't, if I were you."

Male (_Stopping mid-step and turning back_): "Why not?"

(_Clark opens his mouth to speak, but realizes he'd never be believed._)

Male (_Looking slightly confused_): "Alright. We'll see ya'll later."

Male (_Whispering to the woman as they walk off down the trail_): "Are all Coloradoans that crazy? Shesh!"

(_The group from Smallville simply watches them disappear around a bend, helpless._)

Clark: "For their sake, I sure hope those things only want me."

(_Lana holds his hand in her own, trembling slightly._)

Lana: "Me too."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

(_The answer to their question does not take long to come to them. __Clark__'s eyes go wide as he hears a piercing shriek echo through the woods. A ravaged figure stumbles out onto the path several hundred feet away – the woman from before. She stumbles and falls to her face, collapsing on the ground. Not caring any more, __Clark__ disappears in a blur and reappears next to her. He picks her up and disappears ago. He reappears beside Amandil. Startled, Amandil looks up at __Clark_)

Clark: "Amandil."

(_His mouth slightly agape, Amandil nods. He looks down at the woman. His eyes roll into the back off his head, his eyelids drooping. Again, small blue beads of light begin forming near his hands and traveling to the woman. They cling to the blood and to her wounds, and then disappear. Within ten seconds time, she appears to be completely renewed. Amandil falls to his knees, pushing __Clark__'s hand away._)

Amandil (_Sitting back on his hands, panting slightly_): "I'm fine – and she'll be too."

Garret (_Standing up, terrified at the progression of events_): "This is bull ."

Robin (_Pulling on his hand, trying to get him to sit down_): "Garret!"

Garret (_Pointing at Clark and Amandil_): "You two are – you're – god, I don't know! You FREAKS!"

Clark: "Garret, calm down."

Garret: "Calm down? CALM DOWN?! THAT! I'M GETTING OUT OF HERE WHILE I STILL CAN!"

Robin: "Garret! Please!"

(_He wrestles his hand out of Robin's grasp, and commences to run down the trail._)

Robin: "GARRET!"

(_Garret barely even makes it into the trees before four dark shapes envelop him. A thick, guttural scream is heard, and then the path is once again clear. Garret is no where to be seen._)

Robin (_Tears pouring from her eyes, her voice cracking_): "GARRET!"

(_Roby quickly grabs her before she can run off to where she saw him last. She collapses to her knees, sobs wracking her body. Roby hugs her tightly, his mouth slightly agape and his heart pounding. A silent look passes between everyone in the party._)

Roby: "Any chance they'll just go away?"

Chloe: "Doubt it."

Roby: "Any ideas as to what we should do?"

Robin (_Trembling_): "Kill them. Kill those – those – those THINGS!"

Roby: "I don't think we can…"

Amandil (_Wearily raising himself up from his knees_): "Something's not right."

Clark (_Glancing about wearily, focusing his hearing_): "Are they coming back?"

Amandil: "No – and that's the thing. Why don't they just come up here and kill–?"

(_He is interrupted as a loud, echoing shriek flows over them. They all turn to its source – the black hooded apparition. It stands just beyond the clearing, its scythe clutched in its hand. The bottom half of its face is not covered by the hood, revealing starkly white bone. Its jaw hangs loosely, unsupported by any muscle. Again, it emits an ear-piercing shriek, and then moves off into the woods._)

Stacey (_Trembling and holding on to Roby_): "What's it doing?"

Roby (_Scanning the woods for any sign of it_): "I don't know."

Amandil: "I recognize it… somehow…"

Clark: "What?"

Amandil: "Roby, how far are you in your book?"

Roby: "Only about half way…"

Amandil: "Have you read about the horsemen, yet?"

Clark: "Huh?"

Roby (_It dawning on him_): "Oh! But – how?"

Amandil: "No idea. But that sure looked like 'death'. Clark, can you describe the other ones?"

Clark (_Still confused_): "Well, one was a swarming cloud of… something. Another had on armor and had a large mace. The last one was pale, and sickly."

Roby: "Pestilence, war, and famine!"

Pete: "What are you guys talking about?"

Clark: "Care to inform us?"

Amandil: "The four greatest fears of all humanity: death, pestilence, war, and famine. Whatever those things are, they take the form of what we fear most."

Clark (_Remembering the nauseating cold he had felt earlier_): "I think they're more than that, then. One of them touched me, and it felt like I was dieing… like I was already dead…"

(_Pete and Lana stare at Clark, shocked._)

Pete: "Kryptonite?"

Clark: "No. When it touched me, I felt cold… bitter, bitter cold… Like I said, it was–"

(_He is interrupted mid-sentence as another piercing shriek echoes through their ears. All at once, the woods seem to come to life with movement as all four figures hurtle themselves out of the trees._)

(_Eager to avoid direct confrontation, __Clark__ runs off to the side – away from the others. The creatures follow him, gaining valuable ground with each step. __Clark__ looks over his shoulder to see the others running as fast as they can up the path. Amandil stops at the upper entrance to the camp and looks back at __Clark_)

Clark: "RUN!"

(_Amandil does not respond. His eyes roll to the back of his head, and his eyelids droop. His hands, clutched in front of him, begin to shake and glow. All light around him seems to gather and collect around his hands. He takes a step back, drawing it with him, and then thrusts forward. It shoots off his hands with a marvelous _bang_ and hurtles into the four dark figures. The ground seems to come alive beneath their feet, growing roots and stalks at an extraordinary rate, ensnaring their feet. Amandil falls to his knees. Quickly running to him, __Clark__ seizes him about the waist and runs as fast as he can._)

(_Behind them, the shrieks of the beasts can be heard. They tear at their bindings, struggling against their ensnarement._)

Amandil (_His voice weak_): "It won't take them long to break free…"

(_They catch up with the others, but the sound of pursuit is evident. __Clark__ looks around – there is no way he can carry all of them and still be able to run fast enough to get away. He turns to meet the onslaught with only his bare hands. War reaches him first, swinging its heavy mace. Clark blocks it and throws it to the side, ignoring the same feeling of cold. Pestilence comes at him next. Clark swings at it, but his fist simply passes through it. Screaming, __Clark__ falls to his knees as they surround him. He tries to escape, to fly away, but they take hold of him and pull him down. Clark struggles as he feels them all around – choking him, killing him. All light is cut off, and everything is bitter, bitter cold._)

(_A ray of light breaks through to __Clark__'s eyes, and he reaches for it. It intensifies, and the apparitions draw back from it. The ground seems to tremble slightly. Amandil breaks into __Clark__'s vision and he runs to meet him. Glowing a distinct shade of red, Amandil draws the attention of the creatures. They lunge, and for a moment, __Clark__ loses sight of him. Again, the ground begins to shake. As __Clark__ watches, it seems to shake itself loose and explode violently upward in a ring, moving outward from where Amandil just was. In a fierce explosion of light, Amandil bursts back into view. But he looks considerably weaker, and falls to his knees. __Clark__ reaches him, dropping to his knees and helping him to his feet._)

(_Sensing victory, the creatures begin to slowly circle about them. Shrieking excitedly, they begin to move in slowly. Clark follows them with his eyes, watching for any sudden movements. The noose draws tighter._)

(_The ground again begins to shake. __Clark__ looks to Amandil, but finds him looking around as well. Fissures appear in the ground, splitting and multiplying, surrounding the now retreating beasts. Bright beams of light erupt from the cracks, stopping them from escaping. Their shrieks escalate as the Earth rises to swallow them, and then descends again._)

(_Silence again meets __Clark__'s ears as he surveys four pillars of stone that were not there several minutes ago. Bewildered, he feels himself float into the air. Gliding above the trees, he looks to the top of the mountain. At its peak, he can see something shining brightly. Compelled, and without a thought to those below him, he moves towards it._)

(_The light grows brighter as he nears it, making everything around him white. Reaching it, __Clark__ sets down slowly to the ground. He hesitates, realizing that where he is standing now is remarkably similar to what Jor-El's plain was. Looking ahead, __Clark__ can see a figure silhouetted in the distance. With each step Clark takes, anger festers inside of him – the same anger that led him to destroy Jor-El. It seems to be at once that __Clark__ stands before the man. He wears a long, white robe and has hair to match it. A large, warm smile unfolds across his face, sending a wave of wrinkles across his old, wearied skin._)

Clark (_Clutching his fist_): "Who are you?"

Man: "Rao. Though I doubt you would know of me – not many do, any longer."

(_Clark__ feels part of his anger ebb away, and loosens his fist._)

Clark: "Your name sounds familiar, though..."

Rao: "Indeed, it should – though we have not time for it now. What is important is that my time has past, and so have my enemies. Soon, I will take them down to the depths with me. Your time, however, is just beginning."

Clark (_Thoroughly confused_): "What?"

Rao: "You were made for great things, Kal-El."

Clark: "What things?"

Rao (_Ignoring his question_): "Do you know what your name means?"

Clark: "No?"

Rao: "Star-child. And so shall you be."

(_Abruptly, the light fades, and __Clark__ finds himself hovering in the air over the summit of the mountain. Thick clouds envelop him almost immediately, masking him from view to those on the ground below._)

Clark (_Running the name over his tongue like a child discovering pudding_): "Star-child?"

(_The credits begin._)


	21. Epilogue

Epilogue

This is, indeed, my final Smallville fan-fic. I have not the time, nor the will, to continue this series. If you are interested in continuing it, please email me at 

Thank you for your time and continued support.

Dawson Toth


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